Silly STRAVA Racing

[MrJamie]

Questions: Which is more accurate Google Maps or Strava/iphone GPS? Can I claim a sub 5hr 100 mile?

GPS varies depending on the sample rate the app uses and the way it interprets data and depending on your ride too.

If you ride in a dead straight line for 100 miles, you only really need the start and end point, any points on the way that arent absolutely precise are adding small amounts of error data, which even at 1 or 2% can add up to a few miles on a 100 mile ride. On the other hand if youre doing a downhill slalom type ride the gps probably wont sample often enough to follow your route exactly and will essentially cut corners reducing your overall distance. For the guys writing the gps apps its a fine balance between oversampling adding in extra distance from cumulative tiny errors and under sampling cutting corners. On these apps the sample rate on cycling tends to be considerably higher than running which in turn will be higher than walking, as in to not add too much extra distance to each, but its far from perfect without using a bike wheel measurey thing.

 

[gaz]

I've noticed a lot of segments recently which have high ranked times which aren't actually completing the whole segment, and thus giving false times.

Strava says flag or report them.

 

[doctornige]

Ah, yes. I am third on a segment that is actually a sub segment of another where I am 108th. The people who are KOM on the full segment don't feature on the sub segment. How strange.

 

[willhub]

 

[smutchin]

Willhub, I love your avatar - please don't change it. I think your stats speak for themselves wrt whether or not you're a "serious cyclist". Some people* need to get over themselves.

d.

*ie the tossers who flag your rides, not 400bhp, just in case that wasn't clear.

 

[Hacienda71]

Who is Daryl Lee anyway?

 

[willhub]

Sometimes I think I'm taking Strava so seriously, I get a KOM, then someone beats it and I get that butterflys in my stomach cause I want to smash it, but if I'm off out on a hard tempo ride then smashing segments is an option but if I'm doing intervals I'd need to have perfect timing so the segment is on the "on" part of the interval

I've no idea who he is, but he seems to moan if people beat his segments and call them stalkers. There is always someone faster, like if you look at the Chelford segments in Cheshire where the 10 mile and 25 mile TT's are held, if the guys at the top of those segments started attacking (i.e. Simon Yates) segments it'd be very hard or impossible for a good few years to beat them.

I'd say I am a serious cyclist, It's probably the only thing I'm actually good at, and I'm not good enough, this is my second season of fast riding, I used to only do long rides around 18-19mph, like 100-180 into the Yorkshire Dales with the clubs. I want to be doing 20 minute tens eventually and hopefully start road racing and get good, because I see cycling as potentially the only thing and most likely thing I could slightly do ok in as I'm totally useless in everything but cycling.

It's sort of depressing, looking at those either real fast amateurs or looking at professionals, and wanting to be able to go as fast as they can, achieve what they can, but at the same time, knowing you can't and not knowing how to, it's frustrating.

At the moment I'm improving by around 1mph a year it seems, I'll know if that's still the case when I do my 50 mile training loop at home at high tempo, and if I average 22.7, then I know as my fastest last year was 21.7.

 

[Hacienda71]

There are some damn quick guys out there. Simon Yates and the 100%ME lot are on a different level. Then you have the Rapha Condor guys who cycle South of Manchester. I find it kind of interesting seeing their rides as I am too old to ever get close to any of them. I do like having a go at some of the Strava segments. I got to 4th on the North bound Alderley Bypass commuting home one night and thought yep not too bad, then Simon Yates came along and ended any chance of a KOM on it for a normal rider.
In terms of improving though my mate who was a Cat3 racer earlier this year looks like he is going to get to Cat1 in the next month or so and he is well into his thirties, so if you are still at uni you have plenty of time

 

[lejogger]

There are some damn quick guys out there. Simon Yates and the 100%ME lot are on a different level. Then you have the Rapha Condor guys who cycle South of Manchester. I find it kind of interesting seeing their rides as I am too old to ever get close to any of them. I do like having a go at some of the Strava segments. I got to 4th on the North bound Alderley Bypass commuting home one night and thought yep not too bad, then Simon Yates came along and ended any chance of a KOM on it for a normal rider.
In terms of improving though my mate who was a Cat3 racer earlier this year looks like he is going to get to Cat1 in the next month or so and he is well into his thirties, so if you are still at uni you have plenty of time

I don't know how old you are Hacienda71... by the 71 in your name I assume approx 41? That may be a red herring of course, but I despair when I see people using age as an excuse for not improving. I'm relatively new to cycling, and I'm 32... if I were a pro rider I'd be well into the twilight of my career.
I'm inspired on an almost weekly basis by a clubmate of mine though. Being Cheshire based, you may have heard of Wilko. He set the national 24hour TT record last year of 541 miles, and last week set the 12 hour record of 317 miles. The week before that he rode the second fastest 50 mile TT recorded in this country on the saturday, and finished 3rd in an invitational 25 on the Sunday, beaten only by a couple of pro riders, the winner being Alex Dowsett of the Team Sky parish. He's probably in contention to win BBAR this year, 16 years after the last time he won it. I'm not sure of his exact age, but it's not far off 50.

Thank b'jesus he doesn't use Strava!

So to you and Willhub, to me and everyone else who thinks their time may be running out... it really isn't.

 

[smutchin]

So to you and Willhub, to me and everyone else who thinks their time may be running out... it really isn't.

The difference between 32 and 41 may be bigger than you realise... In any case, it's bigger than the difference between 23 and 32.

d.

 

[Hacienda71]

Don't worry. I am not using age as an excuse not to improve. I have improved consistently for the last five years. I can cycle further and faster than I have been able to previously. But if I was motivated to try it, I don't think I could ever nail a sub 20 min 10 tt. From my current base fitness at 41 it just isn't going to happen. It was this sort of performance Willhub was referring to on one of our local tt courses. Seeing some of Wills times on the same segments I ride, I reckon he could do that or get damn close.
I should probably add one of my clients at work who rides clocked a 23 minute 10 and a 4 hour 100 at 65, so I know age only slows you a bit.

 

[Andrew_P]

Read the comments, hillarious.

http://app.strava.com/rides/17530095#321024795

Seems to be taking it far to seriously...

 

[Andrew_P]

I don't know how old you are Hacienda71... by the 71 in your name I assume approx 41? That may be a red herring of course, but I despair when I see people using age as an excuse for not improving. I'm relatively new to cycling, and I'm 32... if I were a pro rider I'd be well into the twilight of my career.
So to you and Willhub, to me and everyone else who thinks their time may be running out... it really isn't.

Age is not an excuse it is a fact, at 47 I have little chance of getting fit enough to really compete with the 23-30 year olds who have been cycling all their relatively young life. I rank in the top 3 of most segements by age so I know it is not just me.

I have been cycling 3 years having stopped cycling the minute I got my driving licence 30 years ago, so I have a fair bit of training to catch up on! But on segements I can get in the top 10-30% and like others some of my commute and rides are used by local clubs on club runs so there are some good quality riders on them (not including Gaz of course ). BUT I do not kid my self a segement is just that, it is a very small sample of a ride it is all very dependent on road and weather conditions I very much doubt in a road race or TT I would place anywhere near the top 50% let alone get myself up in to 8th place out of 130 odd riders.

I started cycling August 2009, and bought my Road Bike November 2010 and bought the Garmin at the same time, here is my first ever commute on it compared to my record commute. So yes you can improve and no doubt I could maybe make the record time a regular time, well maybe if I didn't have 3 kids, a mortgage and all the other life interference to cycling. It would be brillant to have all day every day to go out on trianing rides!

I enjoy Strava but I think for some it has or will become a stick rather than the carrot it should be.

 

[lejogger]

The difference between 32 and 41 may be bigger than you realise... In any case, it's bigger than the difference between 23 and 32.

d.

that's definitely true, but my point was that this guy is posting the best times of his career at nearly 50.
His time on the 50TT was faster over further than Wiggo's gold medal Olympic ride.

 

[jefmcg]

Who is Daryl Lee anyway?

http://www.dlea.com.au/

(edit: oh no, they're in receivership!)