The dark side of Strava?

verdemujer

I'm going to post this just for devil's advocate:

http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/strava-files?page=0,0&cm_mmc=BicyclingNL-_-1475340-_-10242013-_-strava_files

I enjoy seeing other folks rides not for the K/QOMs but for the variety of the maps. And I'm certainly not looking to compete against someone else but to compete against myself, in a safe manner. This article raised the 'darker' side of human nature though; one that has existed before the computer age and sites like Strava. But it makes me take a second look at what my husband is doing with the program. He's always looking at the KOM side of his rides.

katozdad

I've read a few articles regarding these unfortunate events, but none as complete or as balanced as this. A good read indeed that is quite sobering.

I have, in the past, found myself obsessing over the leader boards, less so with the KOMs (I don't consider myself to be that good), but more so, regarding how many more seconds do I have to shave off to move up the leader board. I am also more interested in the stats regarding the flats and the uphill sections, as I like to punish myself a bit. I think I already came to the conclusion that 'any mug can get a downhill KOM if they are crazy enough'.

Other than my regular commute, I consider my rides to be varied, if anything to maintain self interest, but it keeps the focus on the ride rather than clocking up the segments.

But there is one aspect that the article did not pick up on (I think). That is when you grind your way up a hill, or a mountain, the feeling is fantastic and, for me, it is like you have earned the right to enjoy the descent. This is where I find myself reluctantly pulling on the brakes, but... at least I still have the sense to pull on the brakes.

RekindledRose

Strava doesn't contribute to this any more than guns cause crazy b*stards to kill people or food forces anyone to get fat.

That being said...it's a bit like alcohol. It enhances existing character defects. I don't use it often because I don't exercise as much as I should, but I already decided that I'd never purposely create a segment that either raced down hill or encompassed curves I'd think are dangerous.

Good article though.

TheBigYin

I don't give a stuff what anyone else uses Strava for... I use it because it provides something that the other online setups provide, and thats a simple means of measuring my improvement (or otherwise) against other real world cyclists...

I'm too fat, too slow, and too sensible to have many KoM's... indeed, I've a grand total of 4. 2 of which are genuine uphill ones...

http://app.strava.com/segments/3808740

and

http://app.strava.com/segments/3341773

I hold one of them because I'm probably the only Stravisti that's ridden it so far - yes, I created the sector, because I was going to incorporate it as proof in one of the "Classics Challenges" (it turned out to be the one where I was snowed off, and couldn't even walk up it that day, but Hey-Ho)

The other one was set on one of those "perfect storm" kind of days - I came into the hill chasing behind someone on a 50cc Scooter, with a 20 mph tailwind, and basically stayed on the mopeds wheel for most of the hill...

The other 2 KoM's really, really don't count -

one of them is another "Classics Challenge" verification sector, for the "Strada Bianche" - it's offroad (marginally) and about 400 yards on a farm track. Again, I'm KoM on it, because no bugger else has been daft enough to ride it.

http://app.strava.com/segments/3529976

The Other is one of the things I really, really like Strava for, it's a "Sector" that basically is my main training route.

http://app.strava.com/segments/2097631

just looking at the stat's tells you everything - ridden 143 times by 2 people. And, the other person's account isn't showing up in the leaderboard... which tells me that it's probably because there's one of my rides that may have been posted twice (from the garmin 705 and 800 for testing purposes, and the 705 one "hidden" - I did this on quite a few of the "classics challenge" rides as I didn't want to lose a 5 hour ride through GPS fail!).

Now, that's 4 KoM's (or 1 REAL one!) - out of 34,076km's logged on 1006 rides and crossing 174 segments...

I'm not going out there banging my head on the bars to hit a KoM - i'm using Strava as a tool to measure my own performance, with the added bonus of seeing my performance not only improving in raw data terms, but in comparative terms - I get a hell off a kick out of seeing a PB "trophy" pop up at the end of a download.

What other people do is neither here nor there to me. Strava is a Tool to do a job, just because Peter Sutcliffe used a hammer in an unconventional way, doesn't make it a less valid tool for nailing together that Trellis I need to fix someday soon.

FatDadSlim

I think I already came to the conclusion that 'any mug can get a downhill KOM if they are crazy enough'.

"yippee ki yay mofo"

FatDadSlim

And just for balance here's my proudest uphill KOM


Personally i love em, they make me push harder, although i also understand that some are just not achievable for my standard of riding so i don't get hung up on them.

cloggsy71

My 3 KOM's are...







I'm chuffed to bits with all mine & I'm gutted when the dreaded e-mail arrives to tell me I've lost my KOM :sad: