Author Topic: Strava  (Read 61684 times)

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #25 on: 21 October, 2012, 10:36:44 pm »
I could guess where the segments are on my commute. ::-)
Getting there...

benborp

  • benbravoorpapa
Re: Strava
« Reply #26 on: 21 October, 2012, 11:29:17 pm »
There's something quite nice about the way segment names pop up on the rides of people you know. Rather than just a squiggle on a map that needs examination. The segments give a good snapshot of where people have been riding and what kind of ride they've had. I've also enjoyed conversations on club runs prompted by finding out that someone has recently enjoyed cycling somewhere a little more exotic than usual.
Riding in London offers few 'pure' opportunities to compete, there's always an additional factor involved in setting a benchmark time that it becomes almost meaningless. It's much nicer to just find your interest piqued by the wanderings of your fellow riders.

I hadn't realised that Strava could have such an effect on group rides Rhys. I can see how it would encourage indisciplined riding though. I've been lucky that the one club that I ride with who are quite Strava orientated seem to put a greater emphasis on riding together. Each ride seems to have a clear purpose and routes and speeds are determined before setting off on the basis of who is riding. The obligation to the group overrides any need for speed. Mind you, since they operate more as a group of friends interested in cycling, they're not such a magnet for misplaced competitiveness as some other groups might be. I've seen enough of it without Strava as a catalyst to know how frustrating such behaviour is.
A world of bedlam trapped inside a small cyclist.

Re: Strava
« Reply #27 on: 22 October, 2012, 12:36:30 am »
Been on Strava for a month. Since getting an Android phone !

Got a KOM on my commute yesterday morning   ;D
Segment - HP to Filton.

Re: Strava
« Reply #28 on: 22 October, 2012, 06:08:58 am »
They're so few girls on it, I'm QOM almost everywhere I've been. Which is daft.

Re: Strava
« Reply #29 on: 22 October, 2012, 09:25:56 am »
They're so few girls on it, I'm QOM almost everywhere I've been. Which is daft.
Even I managed to get a cup for 10th place yesterday! (out of 10 ;)). My average speed for the day was about 7MPH!
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Strava
« Reply #30 on: 22 October, 2012, 02:25:43 pm »
Strava is currently spoiling all our club rides. On every little rise, some muppet with a Garmin decides he needs a "placing" and attacks, then sits up at the top and, so when the group eventually comes back together everybody is wearing out their brake blocks and rims because Mr Bigshot Strava Segment is is too tired to pedal down the other side. I hate Strava.

There's one doofus who rides like that on our club rides. He just sits in the pack until we hit a hill then charges off as fast as he can. Not sure if he's actually on Strava or just a cock. Either way, he's definitely a cock. And as if to prove the point... he wears full replica Sky kit.

Anyway, since he's usually in the same group as me, he's a long way off being the fastest in the club - the fast boys are usually way down the road by the time we reach the hills.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Strava
« Reply #31 on: 22 October, 2012, 05:26:10 pm »
This is fun, I didn't realise the site could upload straight from the Garmin. I am the 3rd fastest female descender of Cheddar gorge  :D

It also seems to calculate power output, I wonder how accurate this is. I am impressed I nearly got to 300 watts up 'Mount Saltford' last Thursday on the way back from a day out on the bike if that really is accurate, I was knackered and in need of teh cake at the time!

Re: Strava
« Reply #32 on: 22 October, 2012, 07:49:26 pm »
And no sooner is this thread resurrected than the Strava site is down for maintenance.  First time I've seen that.

Quote
10/22: STRAVA SITE ISSUE

Rosie
posted this on Oct 22 10:51 am
We are being affected by an Amazon-wide data volume outage.  Our engineering team is closely monitoring this issue.  We hope to have the site up and running shortly. Thanks for your patience.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #33 on: 22 October, 2012, 08:14:03 pm »
I did wonder why my ride home struggled to upload.  Still can't get in from the PC.  And MyFitnessPal is down, too :(
Getting there...

Jules

  • Has dropped his aitch!
Re: Strava
« Reply #34 on: 22 October, 2012, 08:18:13 pm »
Same problem here - just been out to log some segments and It's telling me to try later.

I've got saome bad news about my diet for Myfitnesspal so it might be a day I  don't log :smug:
Audax on the other hand is almost invisible and thought to be the pastime of Hobbits ....  Fab Foodie

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #35 on: 22 October, 2012, 08:33:46 pm »
Scrabble on FB is down too.

Sorry, folks.  I think I broked the internets :-[
Getting there...

Re: Strava
« Reply #36 on: 22 October, 2012, 09:28:41 pm »
Scrabble on FB is down too.

Sorry, folks.  I think I broked the internets :-[

It seems to have started when I joined Strava, sorry if I broked it folks  :facepalm:

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #37 on: 23 October, 2012, 09:53:18 am »
Phew!  I'd thunked it were me, being clumsy.

Meanwhile, can anyone enlighten me as to how I 'hide' home and work.  It offered me an option when I recorded my first ride, but automatically chose the wrong end of the ride ;D

I've looked, but can't find where I select it. :-[
Getting there...

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #38 on: 23 October, 2012, 09:54:04 am »
I went a different route today - down Brixton Hill.  You can definitely tell the Strava competitors :-\

Last night, as I was riding home, I did wonder how I would feel if there were a similar app for drivers of Corsas with bean can exhausts.  I'd be deeply disturbed.  I don't know, though - maybe there is one?  Would the public understand if they knew about Strava, or even SCR? :-\
Getting there...

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Strava
« Reply #39 on: 23 October, 2012, 09:56:35 am »
Strava is currently spoiling all our club rides. On every little rise, some muppet with a Garmin decides he needs a "placing" and attacks, then sits up at the top and, so when the group eventually comes back together everybody is wearing out their brake blocks and rims because Mr Bigshot Strava Segment is is too tired to pedal down the other side. I hate Strava.

There's one doofus who rides like that on our club rides. He just sits in the pack until we hit a hill then charges off as fast as he can. Not sure if he's actually on Strava or just a cock. Either way, he's definitely a cock. And as if to prove the point... he wears full replica Sky kit.

Anyway, since he's usually in the same group as me, he's a long way off being the fastest in the club - the fast boys are usually way down the road by the time we reach the hills.

d.
I wouldn't worry - people like him can't be trusted on the front of a group!
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Strava
« Reply #40 on: 23 October, 2012, 10:31:15 am »
Meanwhile, can anyone enlighten me as to how I 'hide' home and work.  It offered me an option when I recorded my first ride, but automatically chose the wrong end of the ride ;D

Your name [in top right corner] > Settings > Privacy
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Strava
« Reply #41 on: 23 October, 2012, 10:36:09 am »
I might try this but the idea of having downhill KOM competitions strikes me as spectacularly stupid.  I see an American family are in the process of sueing Strava following the death of a rider trying to get a good time on a descent. 

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #42 on: 23 October, 2012, 10:48:01 am »
Meanwhile, can anyone enlighten me as to how I 'hide' home and work.  It offered me an option when I recorded my first ride, but automatically chose the wrong end of the ride ;D

Your name [in top right corner] > Settings > Privacy

Thanks.  I've also unhidden the bike shop in Wallington, just in case there are some segments running through there ;D
Getting there...

Re: Strava
« Reply #43 on: 23 October, 2012, 09:38:43 pm »
I might try this but the idea of having downhill KOM competitions strikes me as spectacularly stupid.  I see an American family are in the process of sueing Strava following the death of a rider trying to get a good time on a descent.

And Strava are countersuing - for defence fees -  pointing out that the rider had signed up to the T&Cs (which have since been reworded, incidentally) and that they could not be held responsible for his breaking the speed limit and being on the wrong side of the road.


Pedal Castro

  • so talented I can run with scissors - ouch!
    • Two beers or not two beers...
Re: Strava
« Reply #44 on: 30 December, 2012, 04:19:50 pm »
I tried MapMyRide and Endomondo as Strava didn't have a Blackberry app. I ended up using Endomondo because it gave gradient profiles which MMR didn't. Power consumption is fine as is the accuracy. The app auto uploads to the Endomondo website when you end your ride, plus my other half can watch my progress in real time via the web site if she wishes (actually that lost it's novelty fairly quickly).

Started using Strava now as some mates use it and finding the segments slightly interesting, although your segment time says more about the wind strength and direction than anything else. To get a ride onto Strava I have to download the gpx file from endomondo and upload it to strava, takes about 20".

Re: Strava
« Reply #45 on: 30 December, 2012, 05:50:15 pm »
I've discovered the downside to Strava in terms of having a secret cycling life today. Someone in the village I know stopped us and asked me if it was really me riding across Wales in the summer. He recognised my name on the local segments  :o

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Strava
« Reply #46 on: 30 December, 2012, 05:56:48 pm »
My app is crashing at the moment.  Which is a shame, as, on the fast bike, late, and with a following wind and very few cars, I did my commute at record speed this morning.  It would have been a flurry of PRs. :-\
Getting there...

Re: Strava
« Reply #47 on: 30 December, 2012, 06:52:52 pm »
I'm starting to enjoy the mini challenges that Strava have started. Just joined the January 2013 mileage challenge. A good way to keep motivated.

Only have 1 KOM at the mo. Did have 3 last summer.

I don't bother with the downhill segments. I am not fat enough and they seem pointless.

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Strava
« Reply #48 on: 30 January, 2013, 08:51:31 am »
Hey all, sorry if this has been asked before as I've not really got time to read the backlog atm but how reliable are the times on Strava?

I seemed to get my cycling mojo back today after Saturdays 200k audax and the legs were feeling GOOD.  I really zipped up a bit on the A48 in Cardiff which I already know is a sprint segment and knew it would be my record time.

However... I'm now 9th overall out of 274 riders with a 24.3 mph speed up it. I find this a little hard to believe - I'm 42, more than 16 stone, WTF?  Plus it was done on the slower of my two bikes  - not even a full roadbike. 

I'll gladly take the kudos but.... really?
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Strava
« Reply #49 on: 30 January, 2013, 10:23:09 am »
However... I'm now 9th overall out of 274 riders with a 24.3 mph speed up it. I find this a little hard to believe - I'm 42, more than 16 stone, WTF?  Plus it was done on the slower of my two bikes  - not even a full roadbike. 

I'll gladly take the kudos but.... really?

Post a link to the segment here and we'll send the boys round to knock you down a peg or two. ;)

Seriously, it depends on the segment and who's riding it. On my commute through south London, I take in a few hills that are used by some national-level racers on their training rides, so even though I think my times are OK, I'm not even in the top 100 on those segments. But down where I live in east Kent, there aren't many racers who are that good (or they just don't use the same routes as me), so I have quite a few KOMs/high places - though I've lost a couple of KOMs to carpetbaggers, which is annoying.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."