Punted Strava.

[asv]

Strava is a great way to track your progress and motivate yourself and friends. It's probably the best innovation in cycling in the past decade.

[HammerTime2]

The way I see it is social networking is great, but wasn't everything a lot more friendly before it. Once you're sucked in it's hard to escape. Good on you for staying human.

Social media should only be used with care. Some criminals have been caught when they posted videos they made of their crimes to social media. Even something seemingly as innocent as Strava could catch someone up if it showed that they were riding when they were supposedly doing something else, such as being out sick from work.

[CarpetFibre]

I agree HammerTime, but that's just another way of putting 'don't be stupid' and 'don't get up to no good'.

Stupid people have a hard time with social media.

[tonytourist]

I usually upload a months worth of riding at once, so I don't obsess over leaderboards.
It's fun seeing what rides friends have done, and finding a new route if I'm out of tone, but really I could care less about taking it seriously

[Johnny Rad]

Comparing similar rides (or portions) is much simpler with Strava than Garmin's outdated Connect site. That keeps me interested in uploading to Strava.

If you're ditching / ditched Strava, would you consider ditching your cyclometer, too? Someone once said that riding (untethered) for the fun of it was the best... I'm sure they were mistaken. LOL.

[djm]

Any KOM is way off limits in the winter up here, yet I find uploading my sessions to Strava rewarding. It is a nice way of keeping up with what my cycling friends are up to, and a great way to easily compare training sessions. Sharing and getting feedback can also be somewhat rewarding when you're out all alone in -10'C, doing intervals in the dark

Also sharing routes in e.g. Gran Canaria, or even more familiar locatiions, with friends has proven very useful.

The excessive KOM-hunting? Not really into that, but hunting a KOM sometimes if it fits my training plan can be really fun and an extra motivator.

[wojchiech]

Strava is also the closest thing to twitter for cycling in regards to following professional riders. People like Laurens ten Dam, Taylor Phinney, Ted King, Evie Stevens among others are all active and able to be followed by the public. Seeing where they ride (and how ridiculously fast they all are) is more motivating and inspirational to me personally than any kudos or koms.

[Rick]

I really like Strava. But, admittedly, I only really use it to keep track of my own relative progress and compare to peopler who I know personally aren't cheating. Even then. though, you can't take it too seriously because of wind and draft conditions.

I always end up at about the 50th percentile on every segment, so I am not in any danger of shooting for a KOM.

I also know and saw some of the KOM's being set during the Tour of Utah. They really do go that fast.

I like Golden Cheetah for analysis.

[Tinea Pedis]

Comparing similar rides (or portions) is much simpler with Strava than Garmin's outdated Connect site.

Waiting for Garmin to buy Strava - then turn it in to their version of Training Peaks.

Especially given it's already now part of the way there...

[Zoro]

Is "cheating" on Strava really cheating?

[petepeterson]

I like it but I don't take it too serious so that's the key. I get uncomfortable when grown men start talking about a 'KOM's that exist on the internets.

[CarpetFibre]

Comparing similar rides (or portions) is much simpler with Strava than Garmin's outdated Connect site.

Waiting for Garmin to buy Strava - then turn it in to their version of Training Peaks.

Especially given it's already now part of the way there...

That's interesting - it'd be really convenient for Garmin/Strava users like myself and many others.

[dereksmalls]

I don't use it as much as I used to, but still like to see what my friends are doing. I've had a couple of KOMs but have since lost them since the big boys and girls that used to keep their rides and training off Strava have gone on there now. Now I look at what people are doing and have even more respect for some of those people and how hard they ride, train, compete and hold down full time jobs etc.

I don't get worried about where I sit on a leaderboard, but I like to see my own progression.

[carbonLORD]

I personally like Strava, I can track my progress and it also tracks my running, all in one place. Since moving to Amsterdam last year, it's a nice way to stay in touch with my friends in Chicago and see how they are progressing. And it's fun to be the KOM every now and then. Plus, my Garmin 800 had a dead pixel and was out for replacement for 3-4 weeks and I could simply use my iPhone to track things while I waited. A free app that made logging my rides convenient. The downside of Strava are the people who take it too seriously. If you are not one of those people, then you are doing it right.

[Nebby]

I find strava to be a nice training tool (particularly if you have a power meter and are subscribed to their premium service) and a nice way to keep track of your friends that live elsewhere.

The downside of Strava are the people who take it too seriously. If you are not one of those people, then you are doing it right.

Amen