So what’s this Strava thing anyways?
We have our fair share of Stravaddicts at the Live to Play / Norco Bicycles office.
The website tracks activities such as cycling and running via GPS device or smartphone app, and then ranks participants based on their times on popular trails and roads. It can be a great tool for training, friendly competition, and even helps to improve urban infrastructure by sharing ride data with local transport planners.
But if you haven’t used the service before, it can be a bit confusing! So here’s our guide to get you started with Strava, for new cyclists and the uninitiated.
From Strava.com
Getting started with Strava:
- First thing, sign up for a free account and download the Strava Cycling app on your smart phone, or use a GPS unit to collect the data and upload later.
- If you are using a GPS unit, record the data as you normally would.
- If you are using the app, pair any sensors you have with your phone (heart rate monitor or speed / cadence sensors) and then record your ride. Make sure you are set to ‘ride’ or the bike setting, not running.
- Get out there and have some fun!
- When you’re done, stop and upload your ride. With the app you’re able to tag your ride as a commute, or indoor training, which helps when you are trying to sort through your training sessions later. If you’ve used GPS device, export the data as a .tcx, .fit or .gpx file, then upload on Strava.com, using the orange plus sign in the top right hand corner of the page.
- After your upload is complete, the site will process the data and give you results based on the ‘segments’ you’ve ridden along the way.
Crunching the data:
What’s a segment you ask? Riders create loops or portions of roads and trails that act as a start / finish to be timed on. On the mountain bike, this may be a trail or a piece of trail such as a technical descent or climb, and on the road it could be a short sprint or a longer TT route. Segments are represented on the map by red lines, with a green dot marking the start, and a checkered dot as the end.
Once you’ve uploaded a ride, the Strava wizards match up your route against known segments and show you where you fall on the leaderboards, and also how you stack up against previous efforts on the same segment. This is especially helpful to see what progress you are making in your fitness, or even when dialing in bike setup.
Leaderboards can be sorted by overall times, gender, and time, so you get a pretty good idea of where you stack up against your buddies and other local riders.
Top male and female for each segment are crowned “King of the Mountain” (KOM) and “Queen of the Mountain” (QOM). The top 10 riders are awarded cups, which appear as shaded in gold, while top 10 for the current year appear as the outline of a cup. Personal bests (first, second, and third) appear as medals and recognize your progress!
Anyone can create a segment, so if you have a favourite trail or section of road that doesn’t pop up post-ride, you can load it yourself on the website (and likely get the first KOM / QOM).
Get social:
Strava allows you to follow (or request to follow) other athletes, that way you can check out when and where you friends are riding, and stay motivated by following the pros all season long!
The site also has clubs and teams you can join to help you stay connected with riders in your region, or other networks.
This is just a basic guide to getting your feet wet on the site, and there are tons of other neat ways to use Strava. Check out labs.strava.com to learn more!