Have you noticed your group ride suffering from "Strava Syndrome?" You can tell when you've been infected when you start noticing symptoms which include the group's normal sense of flow and camaraderie being replaced instead by a wacky series of random sprints at every slight crest and city limit sign.
If you're not familiar with it, this is how Strava works (and what causes the problems described above). A person rides a "segment" (specific section of road or trail) using Strava app on their smart phone. The app tracks speed and distance, and allows a rider to compare current effort against past performances on this route, as well as to track against other athletes who've ridden the same segment. The Strava app allows you to see where the performance ranks and even eggs on the competition by emailing the rider on top if they've been dethroned by someone for a specific segment.
Sure, some riders are looking for that added competitiveness in their rides. But thanks to this, what I see is the idea of a group ride now suddenly morphing into a group race. For instance, strong riders start at the back of a hill (a Strava KOM segment, of course), follow a series of wheels, then sprint for the line. This leads to many attacks, which makes the ride sketchier, more dangerous and less cohesive. Sigh. Just one more "benefit" of technology, right?
What's your opinion? Have you seen this? And is this Strava effect just a fad or a great tool for making training a bit more interesting? Comment below.
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Comments
Yeah, I was on a leisurely tour of the area around my home about a week ago. Had Strava on tracking my stats since MapMyRide has been sketchy lately. Got home, put the bike away and didn’t think anything more about it.
Then Sunday I got an email that somebody had taken my KOM title for a stretch of road (Lemay Ferry climb from Mattis Road to Butler Hill Road – for anyone who knows the St. Louis area), which prior to that I didn’t even know existed as a segment for anyone. 121 feet climb over .7 mile – HC for sure lol.
The people at Strava are geniuses though – ever since I got that email, all I keep thinking about is going out to recapture my “crown”.
Ever been out riding and see someone idling at the bottom of a hill in prep for a Strava KOM attempt? I saw it last week, a lone rider. The way he attacked that hill, it sure wasn’t hill repeats.
Wow, what a great way to suck all the fun out of riding a bike. A few years ago I took the computer off my bike and threw it in the trash.
What would happen if people just left those judgmental gadgets at home and just rode for the simple enjoyment of riding ‘with friends’ instead of riding ‘against’ them? I don’t know…maybe it’s worth trying.
This reminds me of what we used to call, in the pre-smartphone days, “half-wheeling,” which is when the guy you’re riding with always HAS to be half-a-wheel (or more) ahead of you. So you wind up spending the whole ride feeling like you’re trying to catch up to him… the whole entire ride. Needless to say, I would only ride with someone who does that once, because it’s just no fun at all, really.
I ride with a GPS, and I use Strava. Having said that, I think trying to get a KOM while riding with others is lame. The whole point is to try and do your best ALONE. If you’re doing it as a group, it’s stupid. Total douchebag move. Worse yet, are you willing to risk injury to yourself or other by not following common group ride etiquette? Then go ride alone.
Well a bit of competition doesn’t hurt, depending on your riding preference and goals.
Definitely makes you push harder, which is a good thing.
And it can be a group activity, at least for small groups.
Me and two mates have been going out regularly, and once at the bottom on a segment or hill, its basically a smile and ‘cya at the top’ and see how we go. I don’t see how thats ruining the group ride feel, just changing it up a bit.
And its good to keep competitive even though you can’t be out riding with others, you can compete the same track at a later date.
Let’s have a game of tennis where you can only go one point ahead and all games finish at deuce!
Come on… we all like a bit of competition and we can all enjoy seeing ourselves and our friends improve. The kudos button is well used in our group!
Yeah, Strava has definitely altered the group ride. But it has made riding so much more fun! Having a challenge makes rides more interesting. And it gives you motivation on training rides to hit segments that match the intervals you want to train so that you have an incentive to really peg it. Of course, I ride through segments all the time not racing when my training or mood doesn’t call for it. No one says you have to race every ride. Strava also cures one of the problems with many group rides, which is the tendency to do a constantly medium pace, which is the only type of riding a lot of newer cyclists get. But all of us can benefit from sprints and intervals. Strava just makes it really easy to build them into your rides.
First off, lets give Strava some credit for offering online traceability for training (excel use to handle this for me when I didn’t have GPS capability :-\ ). As a recent GPS enabled computer owner, I can offer information you need to know. I think this technology is great, its really accurate and convenient. To the real matter though, KOM achievements are subjective. Group rides I attend are fast, and have been fast during certain sections since 9 spd., thus why people create segments there. I never think about Strava until after the ride, how can anyone remember where a segment starts and ends when the gas is on?? So, I disagree that Strava is affecting group rides. And if you’re thinking about capturing a new KOM, and really go for it, well I hope you fail, cos that is what you get for expecting something from an online website that you haven’t paid for.
I have 3, quite difficult, KOMs and was wondering if the “King” is allowed to rename the segment, if so how?