No Strava No

“If it’s not on Strava it never happened”. This is a phrase I’m sure all you peddlers are aware of. Love it or hate it Strava and all the other route tracking apps are here to stay. I started cycling when route tracking apps were already running riot on the trails. I can’t imagine cycling without it to be honest. The benefits are immense, one can track their accumulated ride time on the saddle, a rides average speed, total ascent, and the list goes on. Another great perk is that you don’t need to break your bank balance to buy a cycling related GPS device, just download a free app, sign up and you’re ready to go. I personally can’t go on a ride without logging it on Strava. Looking back one can see this as a problem; we’ve become so dependent on it that sometimes we miss the core essence of cycling, exploring, scenery, comradery and freedom. Yes these apps have benefits and are great for training purposes but if you miss logging that one ride is it really going to affect your Profiles ‘Avg Rides / Week’ stat? Like the great Eddy Merckx once stated: “Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride”. You’re still riding even if Strava isn’t recording it, your peers merely just don’t know about it. Not recording it on Strava isn’t going to mean you’re going to have a crappy HIIT training session. Something else that has plagued the trails and roads is that riders feel they have the right to tell you to move over so they can better their Strava Segment. If ever that order gets barked at me I’m going to politely tell you to get f*cked, then I will proceed to throw a CO2 bomb at you. Bettering your Strava Segment over my ride is a no no. Take it easy chaps; really, you’re not Nino gunning for another world title. Make use of your Strava but remember why you’re on that saddle.

See you on the outside — urban rouleur