Does anyone apart from me just get on their bikes and ride them?

[SpokeyDokey]

I'm a fairly uncommitted cyclist covering a paltry 2000 miles a year.

I don't do Strava and am not interested in how I stack up against the rest of the cycling fraternity.

I do like to keep track of my monthly/annual mileage, ascent and av' speed though.

I just like to see how I am doing in the eternal struggle against Old Father Time.

I have a route in the mountains that I climb & time every few years to see how I am doing (or not) - it includes the summit & Swirral/Striding edges of Helvellyn.

Did it a month or two back in 3hrs 21mins which, against my best from 25 years back, at 3hrs 9mins makes me think I am doing ok.

Same principle with my cycling stat's.

 

[Cold]

I use Strava every ride just to see how far I've gone and how long its taken and I always check to see what my fastest speed was.
I don't bother with segments or trying to beat other people it's just for myself to see how I am progressing.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I only have a basic cycle computer on my bike, I'll record the mileage of my Sunday rides and my monthly mileage and thats it, if I'm commuting I'm using the bike for transport, if I'm riding on a Sunday I'm using the bike for enjoyment and if I'm enjoying it thats good enough for me.

 

[nickyboy]

Keeping fit is important to me. At my age it's something that I should pay attention to. So I ride my bike to maintain/improve fitness (and for lots of other reasons too). Strava lets me monitor my fitness. My Garmin is great. Today I went on a ride with at least 20km of roads I've never been on before with loads of junctions. GPS takes all the stress out of this

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

I just get on my bike and ride, it just so happens that I have a garmin when I do it. It does not mean I am not enjoying myself just because I have a piece of electrical equipment strapped to the front of my bike.

 

[Cuchilo]

Its not hard to press a button at the start and stop of riding and for me it extends the joy of riding as i can look at the stats . A bit like using cycle chat , it just part of enjoying the bike .
I don't feel pressured to use my garmin or strava and the segments don't force me to go for them . I know where they are and if its a clear road i may go for it but i'm more interested in beating my own times rather than others .

 

[StuAff]

I just get on my bike and ride, it just so happens that I have a garmin when I do it. It does not mean I am not enjoying myself just because I have a piece of electrical equipment strapped to the front of my bike.

^That. I was somewhat disappointed this afternoon that my Strava achievements totalled one paltry second-best time. This completely overshadowed the pleasure from (even on a somewhat grotty and windy day) my lovely brand-new bike with its fantastic frame and cherry-picked components.

Yeah right.

 

[mustang1]

Me. When I first bought a bike years ago, I also bought a cycle computer but never installed it because didn't want to be it's slave.

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Tired of Strava, tired of life.

*blows brains out*

 

[vickster]

I use a garmin for speed or directions (far from perfect, I'm crap at route planning) and strava on the phone but again to just log miles. I will occasionally chase a flat segment if the way is clear but there's so much traffic generally I'm often surprised if get a medal or cup. I'm slow as hell going up hills and a complete wuss going down, so only ever on flats

I have a cadence meter and heart rate monitor that came with the Garmin, they are both still in the box. Don't give a stuff about those numbers

 

[Mrs M]

I don't have any gadgets.
Might be interesting to record mileage though.
I test my speed on the speedo thingy at the side of the road meant for cars entering the village.
It has told me to "slow down" a few times .

 

[Milkfloat]

Seeing as I make maps for a living based on the sort of data that strava is collecting from you all, it would be a bit churlish to not join in myself. I use my Garmin for following a route and to collect a few stats. I use Strava to record all these as it is easy and simple. I take a look at my stats and am pleased to see when I am doing ok, but I tend to judge my ride by how much fun I had, the chats with friends and the new places discovered, not getting rained on is a bonus.

 

[MontyVeda]

I just get on and ride too... no mileage records*, no speedo, no special clothes** or shoes. But even without any of that, I don't half parp about before actually setting off

*I do occasionally plot my route on Google maps afterwards, but only if it's a new route
**i will don some padded undies for a 30 mile+ ride

 

[rebelpeter]

Well just enjoy the rides however long they take none of us are going to be in the Tour de France or gonna be a pro rider just enjoy the ride and the scenery, why rush it and get back home you wanna be out riding not trying to get back home in record time.

 

[Postmanhat]

This thread has reminded me to log today's ride on strava

EDIT - Just found out walloped my average mph pr. 17.3 mph for the 18 mile ride home from Matlock. Strava's great for that sort of thing and total mileage. Plus I'm slightly obsessed with my performance on hill climbs. Am only just into second year of 'proper' cycling. Maybe this will fade with time. Hardly ever look at the Garmin while riding these days, except to check the time