Strava: A Primer.

by Eli

Section head text.
This week, as part of a 2 week installment I’m going to take a look at a popular social media training log that I think everyone knows about. Strava. In case I’m wrong, taken from their site, “Strava lets athletes all over the world experience social fitness—sharing, comparing and competing with each other's personal fitness data via mobile and online apps. Currently focused on the needs of avid cyclists and runners, Strava lets you track your rides and runs via your iPhone, Android or dedicated GPS device to analyze and quantify your performance. Strava makes fitness a social experience, providing motivation and camaraderie even if you’re exercising alone.”

Sections of roads, called segments, are won over by the fastest rider who’s dubbed the “KOM”.

In theory, this is a great way to get in some high-intensity rides with very specific distances or time goals. Interval days? Great. Hill repeats? Even better. You want to practice for that 1.5 hour early-race solo-flyer? Perfect. There’s a segment for that.

And if there isn’t, create one!

But theory is rarely put into practice. This is how I’ve experienced Strava: I wake up, stretch and take care of business in the little boy’s room. This is when I reflect on my path before me. Give myself a small check-over to see how my body’s feeling - do I go through with the scheduled workout or just ride easy? Legs feel stiff under flexion. Probably something about the distance of yesterday’s ride...easy ride it is. I get on my bike and start riding in no particular direction. Towards Piermont, vaguely...before I remember the segment that I’m now sitting 3rd in. It would be stupid to make an attempt because my legs are killing and this is an easy day...but the crown! To be called King! King for a day, until the previous KOM comes along and takes it back. My mindset switches from easy to race and the entire day’s ruined. What’s worse, I miss the KOM and don’t even beat my previous best.

Sometimes, we get lucky. We can stumble upon some far-off segment that only has 4 or 5 non-racers on the leaderboard. Casual riders who either aren’t very strong or don’t ride very fast. Gearing up the next day, we point our bikes to the new segment and make our attempt to take it down. We seize the KOM. Or we don’t. If it were me, I’d be back there, on my new favorite road, defending my new KOM or continuing to try and usurp the kingship until I finally got it. Day in, day out.

Some segments, however, are out of many racers’ reach. Some, the racer rides down, with his legs pumping, heavy, burning and his breathing labored, his lungs burning. He hurtles his body down the road chasing fame and fortune, only to collapse at the virtual finish line, doing all he can to keep his bike upright as he rolls along at 3 MPH waiting for his legs to stop shaking. He gets home and uploads his ride. Ecstasy and anxiety charge his body as he waits for Strava to locate his garmin...and then he sees it. Second. Second place. Still.

This has become a recurring theme in his life - giving 130% of his being to the bike and then losing his strava segment to a certain rider. A rider targeting big and small-time segments alike. Who is he? Who is this King of the KOM’s and where did he come from?

This is simply an introduction. Next week, tune in to hear his side of the story. 

You don’t actually have to tune anything. This isn’t a radio.

 

74 Comments

Duracell Packaging

Seriously, if Cesar Marte has tested positive for anything why has USADA not announced it yet? Is there more for them to investigate? If he is suspended I expect him to mail me my $10 that I’m owed for moving up a spot in LM.

Jeremy Seatmast

Cesar Martes has tested positive. This may be an anon posting on a website, but that is true and accurate.

1st

boys and girls the forum is open again….rip Eli a new one again because it seems boy has a great ability to heal super fast

sweet sassy

A step back in the wrong direction, Eli…..all these wes and hes are a bad sign. Passive voice is not a good look.

Titouan Locknut

Strava is better left off for the majority of rides, especially during winter, when the air is cold and dense and it’s impossible to match efforts made during the warmer months.

the real Quarqy Thatcher

is getting off on the wrong foot, Eli.

You should really try having sex with someone other than yourself.

…and in the meantime, why don’t you update your own blog with all this shitty shit? Posting here isn’t helping in your chances of getting laid.

Oye veh

Notice how Dan doesn’t go into lengthy detail about putting his shorts on reflecting on the emotional path before him.

Galleazzo Rivnut

there will be testing in Prospect Park this weekend, the testers are in the area for the boston race and are sending a crew to NYC.

Please check to see if your number is randomly chosen post race and of course as usual if you are on the podium

good luck everyone be safe out there.

OffTheBack

This is brilliant on Dan, Alex, and Andy’s part. It’s clearly supposed to so bad so as to encourage other people to start contributing. That or they enjoy watching slow-mo train wrecks.

Lilian Brifter

I love it when you people say things like “I’m leaving this site”… Will the announcement be at the same press conference where Eli declares himself unattached?

Hi

There are two calendars in USAC. NCC and NRC. Within the NRC there is a USACrits series. Crit specialists don’t often do the big RR and visa versa. They are such different disciplines that a guy like Karl Menzies would get dropped on the first climb of a major road race. But there are omniums like Tour de Grove. American cycling is very diverse in terms of types of races. EVen the crits vary in many ways. For example, Somerville has long very fast straights while Vegas had 6 turns and was almost never straight. Somervilel is very wide, Vegas was narrow. Some NRC races are one day events others are 3 day and some are 6. The information is out there, check the news sites and USACycling.org

Hi

ALso, crits are more marketable. Look at a long road race. There are usually very few spectators because the races are in the middle of nowhere and the ones who do show up are already cycling fans in most cases. With crits the venues are usually downtowns with thousands of spectators, many of whom have never seen a bike race before. One hour of intensity is fun to watch live, not something the average spectator can do in RR.

Deno

He is showed a bit of growth with 2nd article, but this is shit.

Eli, tell us more about you how it’s like to be a 23 year old virgin, or your goals for next year, I see you are ranked 2576 (basically a cat 4 ranking), what’s your training plan, your diet, what do you do for work, do you still live at home, why you are no longer with your team, why you rest like you have Epstien barr….you get the idea

Also, there is still racing going on besides cross, bring back the Hangover until then.

Kevin Tracknut

Hi thanks I’m very well informed of the USACycling website and how there is a NCC three times the size of the NRC, I’m also well versed in the UCI… that wasn’t the point of my question. There is obviously an emphasis on Crits in the US as opposed to RR’s in Europe. More marketable…? Maybe, but look at the Tour, Giro, Vuelta. Are you telling me the U$ can’t do a three week tour and get media attention? I think the promotors are comfortable running crits because there is a lot less planning and its cheaper to do when you only pay one municipal permit than very many. Props to the UHC for winning every crit this year, however, they are still just crits…. Not even comparable to winning a beautiful stage in the mountains. Get it?

Amine Grips

My weekend bowling league is more marketable than the entire eastern seaboard cycling calendar. And there, doping is not only legal, but encouraged!

Hi

The grand tours are the only multi week races in the UCI WOrld Tour or any other racing calendar. WOuld it be cool if there weere more, sure as there are certainly enough ProCOnti and domestic conti teams to fill the spots. I read an article not long ago that talked about how promotors are doing away with multi day events in favor of one day events because of the economy. There are definatly som ebig road races in North America like the Gran Prix du Montreal and Alberta, then the Medalist sports stuff. There was almost a Montreal-Boston tour, but it never materialized. The logistics are just so costly.

Alessandro Tubie

You have to remember that Karl Menzies has won the overall of the Tour de Toona, by no means flat. Its just that criterium racing is much more rewarding dollar to effort.

eager anticipation

Where is part two? If you don’t have the balls to finish what you started then you shouldn’t have started in the first place. That’s Cat.6 bullshit right there, son.

Kevin Tracknut

the grand tours are not the only multi week tours… there is a Tour of Morocco that is about 10 days long that is followed up with 4 back to back individual road races in Morocco all part of the UCI Africa tour. All together that gives you 2 weeks of racing with the last few days giving you a break in terms of finishing and meeting the time cut

12

Chris Thater are already cleared, everyone clean. Lou Maltese has some discrepancies,

two suspects, one is racing the other is not. seem biased to me.

eager anticipation

Where’s chapter 2 of this masterpiece article? I can’t wait to see how it all ends. Does Eli get the girl? Does he throw the winning touchdown pass with time expiring? Or is there a crushing defeat that leaves us with tears of joy because it wasn’t about the victory, but the journey itself? Inquiring minds wanna know!

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