Strava

[teambeer]

My legs could not even do half of this epic effort from a friend of a friend: http://app.strava.com/activities/197557056

[Don1]

teambeer said:

My legs could not even do half of this epic effort from a friend of a friend: http://app.strava.com/activities/197557056

Loon. Kudos.

[Fugazi]

teambeer said:

My legs could not even do half of this epic effort from a friend of a friend: http://app.strava.com/activities/197557056

Only 24 repeats of that hill.... At least he could've made it a nice round 25
Could begin to imagine how much effort that involved!! Kudos indeed!

[Herman Toothrot]

BoRED S2upid said:

God damn it 3 seconds off my first KOM. So close.

I rode a friends road bike training route last week that he's made a long single segment and knew I was going to have no chance going up the hills of matching his pace so I went for it on all the downhills, got a 2/806 and a 4/816, the 2nd place 1 second off KOM I was gutted, only have one Mountain bike down hill KOM so far, adding a road bike down hill KOM would have been good.

[yellowjack]

teambeer said:

My legs could not even do half of this epic effort from a friend of a friend: http://app.strava.com/activities/197557056

That road is sooooooo PistonHeads, and he passed that corner on the A4069 every time, up and down. It's also where I cut my road cycling teeth, riding out of Gorseinon, through Pontardulais and up into the hills on my Carlton Continental and later a Raleigh Record Sprint. Then I'd head home down the narrow road through Garnswllt at suicidal speeds, given that it might as well be a single track road for most of it's length. I was never tempted to ride up and down the Black Mountain repeatedly for 17 hours, though...


...a dose of the mentals, there?

[Silver940]

Usget said:

TKF said:

Ever wondered what the weather was like when somebody got that KOM? Just how strong was that tailwind? Well wonder no more!

http://spinloose.co.uk/segment_weather.php

Funnily enough, all of mine are wind assisted

Interesting - but not sure on accuracy. I've only got 3x KOMs and one of them, I know for a fact, had a tailwind so strong that the return leg resembled a wind tunnel. I specifically went out on that day to ps off my mate Karl by setting unbeatable times on his route to work! But the tool reckons it was only 7km/h...

Just checked a few where I can remember the conditions and looks pretty accurate so far.

[ALawson]

Silver940 said:

Just checked a few where I can remember the conditions and looks pretty accurate so far.

Every segment I am third or forth was with head winds and the KOM tailwinds, looks accurate to me

[Bbunter]

Is there a limit on the length of a segment, you can create?. If not I'm sorely tempted to do a 150 miler on Friday, then make the whole thing 1 segment. My hamstrings are all rested, and I have a new cassette / chain on the road bike that needs bedding in. I fancy doing Oxford and back, via the scenic route, and taking in the hill at Farleigh Wallop, for a giggle.

Edited by Bbunter on Wednesday 24th September 13:19

[Gruffy]

I don't think there's a limit but unless it's a route that at least one other person will ride, sometime, is there any point? What would the segment data show you that the 'ride' data wouldn't?

[WinstonWolf]

Gruffy said:

I don't think there's a limit but unless it's a route that at least one other person will ride, sometime, is there any point? What would the segment data show you that the 'ride' data wouldn't?

I've got a 15 1/2 mile segment that pretty much only I ride. It's the out of town part of my commute and makes it easy to spot when I have a fast/fastest day.

[Bbunter]

Gruffy said:

I don't think there's a limit but unless it's a route that at least one other person will ride, sometime, is there any point? What would the segment data show you that the 'ride' data wouldn't?

Whether there is anyone else daft enough to do one of my 'segments'. I'm not sure there is any real point to any of the segments I've seen so far. I guess it would be something that people who are training for long events / rides may find useful. I still see the whole Strava thing as a bit of fun, I just don't see very many long segments.

[ALawson]

I have got a 22km loop which only I ride, its quite good when reviewing all your results to see how you have got better during the year.

150 miles is pushing it unless you are going to do it every month or quarter.

[Bbunter]

ALawson said:

I have got a 22km loop which only I ride, its quite good when reviewing all your results to see how you have got better during the year.

150 miles is pushing it unless you are going to do it every month or quarter.

Barring disasters / injuries, I'd hope to do one or 2 of those a month. It could be an interesting experiment.

[loudlashadjuster]

In addition to creating segments, you can create routes which would seem more appropriate for that kind of thing i.e. an inspiration/inducement to others to ride a favourite loop or run.

[yellowjack]

Bbunter said:

Gruffy said:

I don't think there's a limit but unless it's a route that at least one other person will ride, sometime, is there any point? What would the segment data show you that the 'ride' data wouldn't?

Whether there is anyone else daft enough to do one of my 'segments'. I'm not sure there is any real point to any of the segments I've seen so far. I guess it would be something that people who are training for long events / rides may find useful. I still see the whole Strava thing as a bit of fun, I just don't see very many long segments.

The bit in bold is a fair point, really. Too many segments around my way (off road ones, at least) seem to have been created for the sole enjoyment of individual riders or cliques. They start and finish in weird places, like just off a natural, popular route. It doesn't really bother me, but it does create a lot of 'noise' on the "segment explore" screen within Strava when you want to look for decent segments to weave together into a nice route. When I've created segments I try to think about how other people might approach them, what routes are popular, and always start and finish them before (rather than after) a gate or a junction, and try to use an obvious feature as a start/finish point. There's really no point (in my mind) in creating segments that other riders won't find, as surely the whole point of Strava is the creation of a 'community spirit' and shared endeavours. A couple of my KOM's (as okgo is want to point out) are 'meaningless' because they are short, or have been ridden by very few other riders. Which is exactly why I rode the damned things, to prove a point. I'd far rather be 342/848 on a segment than 1/2 or 1/1 because the spirit of friendly competition is better with an oft-ridden segment, and new PRs are more meaningful when they can elevate you by tens, or even hundreds of places on a leaderboard, even if you know full well that you'll never manage to trouble the top ten.

Don't get me wrong, I like that I have a few KOMs, but I'm under no illusion that I'm the fastest person around those segments, just the fastest with a GPS trace. I also know that the segments ridden by hundreds of people thousands of times are a better reflection on my comparative ability than those ridden by only a handful of riders who were 'avoiding the limelight' so to speak. I picked up a couple of 'top ten' placings t'other day, on segments I didn't know existed, and only found due to a bridleway diversion around a film set. "Wow!", thought I. "That's pretty good going!". But theses segments had only 20 (8th) and 11 (6th) riders on them, and those riders don't appear to have been "going for it" when they passed through. When the filming ends, and the diversion is lifted, I'll probably never ride those segments again.

But to echo other's sentiments, no, I wouldn't create a long segment like that, unless it follows a popular route, like a sportive or a stage in a road race. Mainly because it would depend too much on coincidence (or bloody-mindedness) for anyone else to ride that segment. Oft times, really long segments are not useful because so few will ride the whole lot, while if you break the route down in to smaller chunks with more 'natural' entry and exit points, then those who share only part of your long route can 'join in the fun' and it gets much more 'sociable' and inclusive. Just my opinion though. Not right, nor wrong. Ultimately, if you want to create a segment, crack right on and do it.

[torqueofthedevil]

What does the number in a little grey circle on the iPhone app mean? Rode a route I've never done before and got a few with a 4 next to them

[Silver940]

Makes my Elephant in the forest look lame...

http://www.strava.com/segments/8184129?filter=over...

Genius!

[Usget]

Silver940 said:

Makes my Elephant in the forest look lame...

http://www.strava.com/segments/8184129?filter=over...

Genius!

That is an outstanding effort!

[Fourmotion]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[gazza285]

Fourmotion said:

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ha! Loser.