Sunday Times decide to Strava bash

[lejogger]

Anyone see this article in today's paper?
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1211250.ece
Apparently if a motorbike can't beat a Strava KOM or QOM in a one off journey then all cyclists are jumping red lights and breaking speed limits.

Seems that Daily Mail style journalism is now infecting the broadsheets.

We all know some cyclists ride carelessly as we know some drivers drive carelessly, but we don't get articles designed to outrage written about speeding and red-light jumping motorists.

The authors might also want to research whether speed limits actually apply to bicycles before they base a whole article on the fact that they do.

Anyway, rant over now. Apologies. Just frustrated that I couldn't fit all that into a tweet to the journalists in question without it just being a one word expletive!

 

[Sittingduck]

I'm betting the author has recently lost a KOM. Anyway we're allowed to ride faster than the speed limit on most roads and I don't think 33.4mph on Armoury Way is excessive.

 

[robgul]

... I saw that ... and there's lots of other discussion about Strava (and a court case, in the US - where else? - where a cyclist's family is trying to sue Strava for encouraging him to take risks and get killed)

As with all this stuff it's a miniscule % of cyclists that get the bad press .... however, to me there is some substance in the examples, especially in Central London, of speeds etc either being stupid & RLJ riders OR cheating with a moped/motor-bike to claim the times [There's a Strava segment quite near where I live ... on an un-restricted, quiet back-road up a steep hill where it's hard to get to the KOM time DRIVING A CAR ... it MUST be a cheat]

My understanding of speed limits and bikes is that they can't be applied ... what they can get you for is "reckless riding" if exceeding the speed limit.

Rob

 

[lejogger]

... I saw that ... and there's lots of other discussion about Strava (and a court case, in the US - where else? - where a cyclist's family is trying to sue Strava for encouraging him to take risks and get killed)

As with all this stuff it's a miniscule % of cyclists that get the bad press .... however, to me there is some substance in the examples, especially in Central London, of speeds etc either being stupid & RLJ riders OR cheating with a moped/motor-bike to claim the times [There's a Strava segment quite near where I live ... on an un-restricted, quiet back-road up a steep hill where it's hard to get to the KOM time DRIVING A CAR ... it MUST be a cheat]

My understanding of speed limits and bikes is that they can't be applied ... what they can get you for is "reckless riding" if exceeding the speed limit.

Rob

I think I've been reading about that court case in the US for we'll over a year now. It's hardly current news, and IMO Strava are spot on when they say that the ultimate responsibility for looking after cyclist's safety on the road lies with cyclists themselves.

Reckless cycling and breaking the motor vehicle speed limit are not mutually exclusive.

The frustration is that it's the press who are creating this 'war' between motorists and cyclists by irresponsibly reporting this guff.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Seems to be reasonable to me, the purpose of Strava is to encourage competition and thus encourage people to ride faster. When your focus is getting a KOM your focus may not be on other road uses.... The question which needs to be answered is whether the road is the place for competition. If they did Strava for cars the roads would be carnage.

 

[lejogger]

Seems to be reasonable to me, the purpose of Strava is to encourage competition and thus encourage people to ride faster. When your focus is getting a KOM your focus may not be on other road uses.... The question which needs to be answered is whether the road is the place for competition. If they did Strava for cars the roads would be carnage.

For the vast majority of cyclists on the vast majority of roads, getting a KOM or the best time they can achieve will be done at well under the legal speed limit. There aren't many who can maintain speeds of over 30mph for any length of time otherwise competition for our Olympic team may be a bit more stiff for Wiggo and co.

The act of gaining a PR or a KOM is for me not an act of throwing all caution to the wind and blasting blindly though junctions or red lights. I know full well that the majority of segments on my commute require a combination of multiple favourable factors for me to get PRs now; including a favourable tail wind, feeling fresh and as fit as a fiddle, and most importantly, favourable traffic conditions and luck with the lights. If I hit a red then the chance is gone until next time. That's part of the charm - they're not something that are easy to attain... And if Strava segments are really that dangerous they should be flagged.

Ps while true for some people your definition of Strava is not true for all. You don't have to ride unsafely to be able to see and appreciate a record of improving times and fitness gained through more and more training, not through riding more and more dangerously.

 

[Hacienda71]

A badly set up segment is an issue where it goes through lights or across a roundabout. Riding fast through a well set up segment is not an issue or they would ban all on road competition. As it is you can TT and road race on open public roads and to the best of my knowledge there are no proposals to ban these.

 

[HovR]

'Road user exceeds speed limit'

Shock, horror.

 

[400bhp]

Edmmund King talks bollox (well as much of his quote as I could read as the full article is subscription based) shocker.

33mph - OMG think of the children.

 

[400bhp]

And, to be fair, I don't think most of us would be too concerned if Strava banned segments that crossed multiple lights.

 

[jefmcg]

I've been along "Gunning it! On Armoury Way (get it?)" before 7 in the morning, and you can be the only vehicle there if you time it right: I'm surprised that the top speed is only 33mph.

4 lanes of traffic, few pedestrians and long green signals, it's designed for gunning. It was even quiet when google visited.

http://goo.gl/maps/0Jl2b

 

[Pale Rider]

I've seen roadies riding as if making fast progress is the only thing that matters, so there is a fair point to be made here.

Leaving Strava aside, I've been on an organised 'fun' ride - and read of others - which have been partly spoiled by some riders who treat it as a race.

One rider swore at me and/or two pedestrians for impeding his progress on a shared path.

 

[lejogger]

I've seen roadies riding as if making fast progress is the only thing that matters, so there is a fair point to be made here.

Leaving Strava aside, I've been on an organised 'fun' ride - and read of others - which have been partly spoiled by some riders who treat it as a race.

One rider swore at me and/or two pedestrians for impeding his progress on a shared path.

I completely agree. There are nobbers in all walks of life thought not just on bikes, and it's not the bike that makes people nobbers. The argument that Strava creates these people and that it's all cyclists who behave this way is completely irresponsible.

I'm sure there are inconsiderate drivers who act unsociably as well as inconsiderate pedestrians, fishermen and library users... That's something that is hard wired into personality and sociology, not because of a website.

The reason I highlighted the article was because journalists are using us as an easy target and stoking the fires of an emotive issue in order to sell column inches rather than reporting responsibly. I don't really know why I'm surprised, it's not a new phenomenon, it just wound me up a little while I munched my Special K this morning.

 

[jdtate101]

I purposely don't contest segments with lights, junctions or downhill runs. Only uphill sprints or drags for me. Far too many idiots out there going hell for leather with little regard for their or other's safety. If I do take a shot at a segment with say a RAB on it, then I will go for it during early morning when there is minimal traffic.

I went on a group ride the other day where one of the riders would sit at the back on the line, not taking turns until there was a segment coming up. At which point he would surge past and bomb it. Most anti-social behaviour. During the end of the ride he expressed how the next segment on our route was his ultimate goal. So off we went and true to form he lagged at the back until the hill sprint came into view. Off he went, but I decided to tail him all the way up and bust his bubble just before the top by going past him. I got the KOM much to his annoyance, and he asked my why I'd done that, to which I replied he should learn to ride more considerately when in a group. I think it finally sunk in.

 

[lejogger]

I purposely don't contest segments with lights, junctions or downhill runs. Only uphill sprints or drags for me. Far too many idiots out there going hell for leather with little regard for their or other's safety. If I do take a shot at a segment with say a RAB on it, then I will go for it during early morning when there is minimal traffic.

I went on a group ride the other day where one of the riders would sit at the back on the line, not taking turns until there was a segment coming up. At which point he would surge past and bomb it. Most anti-social behaviour. During the end of the ride he expressed how the next segment on our route was his ultimate goal. So off we went and true to form he lagged at the back until the hill sprint came into view. Off he went, but I decided to tail him all the way up and bust his bubble just before the top by going past him. I got the KOM much to his annoyance, and he asked my why I'd done that, to which I replied he should learn to ride more considerately when in a group. I think it finally sunk in.

Well that completely proves my point. Every other cyclist in the group knew how to behave but he didn't, and I'll bet he's the same in every other walk of life.

Strava doesn't make him act like a fool, he just is one.