Strava... The Love Hate relationship

J

j_latimer

Newbie
Let me start this by saying, I HAVE NOT EVEN USED THE DAMN THING YET... and I can't stop looking at it.

Let me start by saying, I got a text last night from a friend (approx 10pm), said "hey friend me on strava." I should have waited until the morning. At 1am, I had gone through most of his rides, and was planning my weekend around a few rides so I can put some mileage down to hopefully keep up with him again.

The worst part of my evening was that in the back of my head, I knew my alarm would be blaring at 4:30am for work... and then that damn gremlin in my mind popped up... Hey Jordan, Why don't you just call in sick tomorrow? they will never know you went for a ride?

So, I have a new bike in my garage, has only seen about 1 mile of dirt (wife wanted to ride...and well, she made it further than expected) and I now have a plan in my head for a Saturday and Sunday ride.. Depending on how I feel...(but with that damn strava app looking at me, I will probably over exert myself and ride both days..)

This is my very horribly executed posting, and I hope you all have a great day!

Jordan
 
I've been using their free app on my iPhone. I am still on the fence about subscribing. Don't even look at the K.O.M. or C.R's. They post times of other users, I am in second place on the hike up Los Pinetos by one minute.... Yea, that sucker is going down!

Let's face it, it's very cool! I even stopped using my Garmin...
 
Hahh!
Since STRAVA, I have never had an easy ride since. I'm always conscious about elevation gain and how many miles I get in.
The good side of it is that it makes me want to get out and ride! That competitive side of me wants to get out there have the most miles for the week, or have a great climb segment, not necessarily have to be KOM (but is pretty cool when you are!)

But I learned not to make it an obsession otherwise I just get hurt or tempt fate!

~Mikie
 
Mikie,

Thats the problem, I see it as a challenge/obsession.. It could also because I am stuck having cabin fever waiting for the weekend to ride, and seeing people who can ride mid-week that makes me envious...
 
How about a imtbtrails "Club" on Strava? I think anyone can create one but probably the site admin (i.e. Mikie !) should do it.

I use Strava but the newness is long gone and trying to beat my old times hurts too much, or in the case of downhill segments, gets a bit sketchy since an injury last year. But do use it to see how miles and elevation stack up to past months/years, and hit the "My Results" on certain segments to see how slow/fast I was compared to last month/year.... always hope to see some improvement on the inclines. A great tool and motivator.
 
I just use it to see if I am progressing personally. I could care less about elevation gains and KOM'S. I ride to enjoy myself and get away for a while.
 
I like that it will allow you to see your progress, and see your friends rides. But one of the nicest features! It shows you the trails that are ridden! I kind of like it more than geoladders!
 
Strava allows me to have a little more fun on solo rides. On group rides, it just turns into a normal cyclometer with GPS capability.

I have a local loop that started to have fun on, "drawing stuff" with GPS tracks:

Strava.jpg
 
hey that's a cool idea. I may have to try some sketches my self sometime.

Strava is definitely a good motivator for me to push sections I know that I can do better on. still trying to make the top 10 on routes in my neighborhood. :cry:
 
Oh my. Strava reinvented biking for me in some respects, and not all of them good. I find that competing with myself is what I like best about it, but I also get wrapped around seeing what others are doing. I'm never going to get a KOM anywhere, but I do like to see consistent PRs. Just shows me I am getting better at the rides I do a lot.

On the not so good side, rides became more about nailing a segment than enjoying the ride (although I always enjoy the ride...). I also found that I stopped carrying my camera with me as much, but this is also a direct result of riding the same trails over and over again.

On the sublime side (or is it the ridiculous side?...), there's always this...



All the best!

- shud

dick.png
 
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