Strava

[whatleytom]

TwistingMyMelon said:

LOL I'm Swindon based and had exactly the same thing yesterday! KOM lost notifications, from the same guy! Bit odd, as he took them last year and I had notifications at the time! Unfortetely 3 kids have taken their toll and I'm not as stong as last year, plus im usually on my work snotter bike which has no chance of KOM on the road (actually I think my only KOM left was set on it!)

Hmm, a bit fishy. Looking at his power data as well, his watts are about 100w over the power I've done across the same segment, yet he's barely any faster, so he must be powerfully built too. Either that, or the cynic in me says he's messing around with the data, and re-uploading his rides.

[TwistingMyMelon]

If we are talking about the same chap, he has most of the segments in the area, I used to enjoy challenging him for the short sprints, but haven't had the time or weather (it rains a lot) to get close! I have seen him cycling about , I even saw him in person take my favourite KOM I had when I was walking my dogs, which was ironic.

[whatleytom]

TwistingMyMelon said:

If we are talking about the same chap, he has most of the segments in the area, I used to enjoy challenging him for the short sprints, but haven't had the time or weather (it rains a lot) to get close! I have seen him cycling about , I even saw him in person take my favourite KOM I had when I was walking my dogs, which was ironic.

I assume we must be (Ian T, don't see any harm in naming him here?) I don't really remember seeing him on Strava before now, but didn't pay too much attention. I had a fair few KOMs round my way (Badbury, Wanborough and out towards Aldbourne, a couple in town too) Not to precious about any of them, just seems weird.

That and I want to have a fair crack at them based on current form!

[TwistingMyMelon]

whatleytom said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

If we are talking about the same chap, he has most of the segments in the area, I used to enjoy challenging him for the short sprints, but haven't had the time or weather (it rains a lot) to get close! I have seen him cycling about , I even saw him in person take my favourite KOM I had when I was walking my dogs, which was ironic.

I assume we must be (Ian T, don't see any harm in naming him here?) I don't really remember seeing him on Strava before now, but didn't pay too much attention. I had a fair few KOMs round my way (Badbury, Wanborough and out towards Aldbourne, a couple in town too) Not to precious about any of them, just seems weird.

That and I want to have a fair crack at them based on current form!

Indeed, yeah he has every or does well on every segment in the area, seems a very quick rider. I've only been on Strava a year, if I ever wanted to target a segment he would always have it usually! I used to enjoy targeting segments with interval training, haven't had the time recently.

If you came back for the day/weekend, pray the wind is behind you, recently its been a royal pita. It was comical doing a club run on Saturday , riding into it the way to the café , but on the way home it was like riding a moped!

[Devil2575]

There's a guy lives near me and he has most of the KOMs in the area. He's very fast but to be honest he's a pain in the arse. He has no family and lots of money so doesn't have to work and so has time on his hands. He waits till the wind is right and then goes out and get KOMs.

I'm just jealous but I wish he'd ps off!

[okgo]

How pathetic he sounds!

[ewenm]

Devil2575 said:

There's a guy lives near me and he has most of the KOMs in the area. He's very fast but to be honest he's a pain in the arse. He has no family and lots of money so doesn't have to work and so has time on his hands. He waits till the wind is right and then goes out and get KOMs.

I'm just jealous but I wish he'd ps off!

Do you beat him in races? That's what counts. Strava is just ego-fluff to occupy the recovery hours.

[okgo]

That is the other thing with cycling, people give it the big I am left right and center yet a tiny percentage of the people who would class cycling as their main sport hold a race licence.

[WinstonWolf]

okgo said:

That is the other thing with cycling, people give it the big I am left right and center yet a tiny percentage of the people who would class cycling as their main sport hold a race licence.

No different to driving...

[Steve vRS]

To be fair, most of us would get blown out the back of a Cat 4 race so Strava feeds our inner demon.

I'm trying a TT for the first time tonight and fully intend to be propping the table up, but at the same time ranking highly on the Strava segments along the route

Steve

[TonyHetherington]

Cyclists have strava, drivers have the 'ring

Strava IS racing. You weren't there man. You don't know what it was like. I had my rucksack on and everything.

[MC Bodge]

I am surprised by the number of people who appear to accidentally label their bike rides as runs (and produce "miraculous" speeds)

The display of the results are different enough to suggest that these people don't actually look at the results when they've uploaded their ride/run.

[Devil2575]

ewenm said:

Devil2575 said:

There's a guy lives near me and he has most of the KOMs in the area. He's very fast but to be honest he's a pain in the arse. He has no family and lots of money so doesn't have to work and so has time on his hands. He waits till the wind is right and then goes out and get KOMs.

I'm just jealous but I wish he'd ps off!

Do you beat him in races? That's what counts. Strava is just ego-fluff to occupy the recovery hours.

I don't race and I have no idea if he does. I doubt I would beat him though.

[ewenm]

okgo said:

That is the other thing with cycling, people give it the big I am left right and center yet a tiny percentage of the people who would class cycling as their main sport hold a race licence.

It's interesting - I don't know many people involved in the current running boom who don't at least do parkrun or some other racing. I guess that parkrun could be seen as equivalent to a sportive in concept rather than "real" racing. Maybe the need for a licence puts people off cycle racing.

[MC Bodge]

ewenm said:

okgo said:

That is the other thing with cycling, people give it the big I am left right and center yet a tiny percentage of the people who would class cycling as their main sport hold a race licence.

It's interesting - I don't know many people involved in the current running boom who don't at least do parkrun or some other racing. I guess that parkrun could be seen as equivalent to a sportive in concept rather than "real" racing. Maybe the need for a licence puts people off cycle racing.

Many people of sporting/racing age are also of child-bearing age and have children. Many of these people who would be racing or used to race feel that they should spend time with their families and very often their spouses aren't that keen for their partner to be out all day/weekend or to take the family to some race location whilst (usually) Dad has fun racing his bike (or on foot) all day.

The race licence thing does seem to be an inconvenience.

Evening time trials are quite popular.
Criterium races have a reputation for being carnage.
Sportives/MTB marathons and long races take all day.


ps. Running races that take place in the morning are also far more convenient to these people than ones that start at 1pm.

[Devil2575]

ewenm said:

okgo said:

That is the other thing with cycling, people give it the big I am left right and center yet a tiny percentage of the people who would class cycling as their main sport hold a race licence.

It's interesting - I don't know many people involved in the current running boom who don't at least do parkrun or some other racing. I guess that parkrun could be seen as equivalent to a sportive in concept rather than "real" racing. Maybe the need for a licence puts people off cycle racing.

I cycle for fitness and fun. I will do a sportive when one comes up that suits me time/date wise but it's not easy when you have to fit it round family commitments and work.

Strava is a great way to measure your own improvement/fitness. KOMs are good for a bit of fun but in reality I don't ever expect to be able hold one for any length of time. I can't compete with people who have a lot more time on their hands. That's not a whinge, I wouldn't give up my kids for every KOM on Strava

[okgo]

I don't know what puts people off. The licence is £50 or someone, not really a barrier, people cite time but many still find the time to ride 150-200 mikes a week.

I don't really mind either way it's just that many people seem to think they are racing when doing fun runs and the like (sportives)

[Zigster]

When I do parkrun, I'm "racing" primarily against myself but I also like to see how I'm doing against other people. I don't need to be a professional runner to do that.

Similarly with cycling - I like going out for a ride with my mates and I like to see how quick I am and how I compare with them. That doesn't make me want to be a professional racer. What would be the point of a racing licence for me? What would I use it for?

[whatleytom]

MC Bodge said:

I am surprised by the number of people who appear to accidentally label their bike rides as runs (and produce "miraculous" speeds)

The display of the results are different enough to suggest that these people don't actually look at the results when they've uploaded their ride/run.

Worse still is that amount of morons who run using the smartphone Strava app then "miraculously" pick up every running KOM on their route. Only upon looking at the run the GPS data is so wonky its untrue, and on their actual 2 mile route, they've *supposedley* run about 8 miles at 4min/mile pace.

[Kermit power]

okgo said:

I don't know what puts people off. The licence is £50 or someone, not really a barrier, people cite time but many still find the time to ride 150-200 mikes a week.

I don't really mind either way it's just that many people seem to think they are racing when doing fun runs and the like (sportives)

Any time I get to ride 100 miles a week, it means I've commuted to work and back three times, which is time I'd otherwise spend on the train and walking to/from the stations, so dead time anyway. Go beyond that, and I struggle to find 2-3 hours in a week to get out. I do everything I can to get out on the trails with friends on a Friday evening and have a pint afterwards, but the weekends are largely consumed by the kids.

One advantage of Strava is that people can see how they rank against others without having to ride at the same time as them, which addresses the above issue. For roadies, I suspect there are also a fairly significant proportion who would feel nervous at the thought of riding in a peleton?