Who Builds WattsUP

Why this exists

I built WattsUP because I was tired of watching cycling software turn into an advertising billboard.

For years, my training was split in two. From November to March, I rode intervals in the basement on a smart trainer, locked into an app that treated riding like a video game with avatars and level-up popups. Come April, I moved outside with a GPS head unit and uploaded my files to a platform that slowly converted its chronological activity feed into an algorithmic discovery feed, sponsored brand challenges, and paywalls around basic historical power curves.

When Strava changed its third-party API terms in late 2024 — restricting coach visibility and locking down rider data — it was the final straw. Your fitness history shouldn't depend on whether an ad-funded platform changes its developer agreements on a Tuesday.

I wanted a quiet field notebook that does two things really well: plays structured ERG intervals on the trainer during winter, and charts outdoor FIT/GPX files during summer, combining both into one continuous 12-week training load curve that I can export whenever I want. Nothing like that existed without subscriptions or ads. So I built it.

Who I am on a bike

I am a 3.4 W/kg amateur cyclist who is terrible at technical descending and rides the rolling hills of Chester County four times a week.

I love long endurance loops along the Brandywine Valley, suffer on punchy 14% gravel kickers, and spend winter weekday mornings sweating over sweet spot intervals with a box fan pointed at my face. I am not an ex-pro or a national champion; I am an ordinary rider who cares deeply about clean numbers, steady progress, and knowing whether my chronic training load actually prepared me for a spring century.

Who I am off a bike

By trade, I am a software engineer focused on distributed systems, modern web architecture, and telemetry data processing.

WattsUP is built using Next.js, Web Bluetooth, and local browser-based binary parsers for FIT and GPX byte streams. I write clean, fast code that runs locally on your device rather than sending your private GPS tracks to advertising servers.

How WattsUP is funded

It isn't funded. I build and maintain WattsUP at night and on weekends after my rides.

There are no venture capital investors expecting 10x returns, which means there is zero pressure to introduce subscription paywalls on your personal files, add crypto tokens, or sell your ride data to insurance brokers. If WattsUP ever charges money, it will be for optional team, club, or coaching features — the personal logbook and data export will always remain free.

Get in touch

I read every message and respond to all feedback from riders:

Check out the platform features, see what WattsUP costs, or read our guide on how training load actually works.