Dissertation Questionnaire - Motivations for Road Cycling

[mjr]

I found the question about how much I cycle a month in a year slightly confusing, but there did not seem to be many serious problems and it degraded gracefully to work on my mobile phone, which is better than a survey I filled out for my bank recently which was some unusable drag-and-drop thing.

 

[Archie_tect]

Good luck Glyn!

My motivation [to cycle more than I used to when our children were growing up] was to lose weight as part of a concerted effort to exercise more and eat less... with the added bonus that we got a road tandem so Mrs A_T and I could cycle out together and we could have coffee and cake stops now and again!

I did download Strava once but didn't like the invasive way it published data so I deleted it... though that's probably because I didn't take time to find out haw to switch that aspect off or de-personalise it. I do use the free-to-use Cyclemeter app but only to keep basic data records of rides to make sure I keep my cycling /walking exercise levels up. I've since taken up Badminton and Tennis again [after a 40 year hiatus] which has reduced the amount of cycling time I get.

 

[Glyn16]

Thanks for the comments, and I will be the one who comes back!

 

[FishFright]

Done

 

[All uphill]

Done!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The Strava one is an interesting one.

I am interested in seeing where friends have ridden and how far. I am not that interested in their speed , heart rate , power estimates etc. Maybe the paid version is better but it’s also not great for tracking my overall fitness.

The segments are only of passing interest to me for seeing how I’m doing on a particular hill. 9/10 rides I’m just enjoying the scenery and the flow stats of cycling.

Some friends have dropped off Strava because they felt pressured to be faster than they are.

If a rival came out that just grouped all my own rides by where they went , showed me my average speed and HR on particular loops. Had a decent search and export function. Then just showed an outline maps and distance to others and nothing else. I would be more than happy just to use that.

 

[Drago]

Done diddy-un.

 

[Glyn16]

The Strava one is an interesting one.

I am interested in seeing where friends have ridden and how far. I am not that interested in their speed , heart rate , power estimates etc. Maybe the paid version is better but it’s also not great for tracking my overall fitness.

The segments are only of passing interest to me for seeing how I’m doing on a particular hill. 9/10 rides I’m just enjoying the scenery and the flow stats of cycling.

Some friends have dropped off Strava because they felt pressured to be faster than they are.

If a rival came out that just grouped all my own rides by where they went , showed me my average speed and HR on particular loops. Had a decent search and export function. Then just showed an outline maps and distance to others and nothing else. I would be more than happy just to use that.

Thanks for the comments - it is interesting to see that even just from these replies, quite a few people would/do prefer simpler alternatives to Strava. I'll see what the overall results are from my question on it, but it looks like I could have added an option specifically about there being too much data, or that you use an alternative app which does similar things. It is already clear that people use it for different reasons though.

 

[chrisleuty]

I note that there is no option for being a regular road cyclist for 5 to 6 years!

 

[Donger]

Not sure why you assume we must be using Strava. I didn't complete that section at all, as I only ever use it to plan routes, not to record rides that I have done. I do keep a record of my rides, but privately for my own motivation. I also enjoy joining challenges ..... such as those on this forum, and often share details on this forum ..... which you did not include in the appropriate place on your questionnaire.

 

[Glyn16]

I note that there is no option for being a regular road cyclist for 5 to 6 years!

Fair point.

Not sure why you assume we must be using Strava. I didn't complete that section at all, as I only ever use it to plan routes, not to record rides that I have done. I do keep a record of my rides, but privately for my own motivation. I also enjoy joining challenges ..... such as those on this forum, and often share details on this forum ..... which you did not include in the appropriate place on your questionnaire.

My intention was not to assume everyone was using it. If you answered that you never use it to the initial social media question, the next one should have been about why you don't use Strava rather than why you do, but no worries either way. I definitely should have included forums as another option for that question though, will make sure I take into account that they are also popular.

 

[rvw]

Done - though some of the answers are based on how much cycling I would do in a year when I hadn't smashed my wrist... we are now back on the tandem (where I don't have to worry about whether I have the strength to brake with the dodgy hand) but solo bike will take a little longer.

 

[Alex321]

Done - though the first question was a bit tricky.

I used to cycle quite a lot, for several years, then more or less stopped for about 20, before going back to it at the start of the pandemic.

 

[cyberknight]

done although i had to convert to km and it seemed odd that you have scotland then the rest of uk as options

 

[Glyn16]

done although i had to convert to km and it seemed odd that you have scotland then the rest of uk as options

Splitting Scotland from the rest of the UK was more for my own curiosity because most of the people I know to share it with are in Scotland and I wanted to see how many outside of that I could reach. I don't expect there to be a noticeable difference in responses between the two, and I can always combine them anyway.