10/14/14 10:24 AM

Similarly [maybe jerks stealing KOMs] on one local bike path you get the tools too.

Folks walk on, run, commute, and even bring their kids on this paved path. And even horses frequent, they even have buttons for the sparse crossings 7' high on poles as well as lower ones for those closer to the planet surface.

Now I love to time trial out and back on the thing, and do big ring it at sustained speeds. Having said that, I do not do what I am about to complain about.

Rather, instead of blowing past other riders and groups of walkers and even unpredictable kids on 8-12" wheeled bikes. I slow to a speed, and near or actual stop when I feel it is called for. I have picked up folks off the ground several time someone caused to spill. Once even having to bend a fork so the wheel could go back in after a kid was sent off piste and crashed into the briar.

It is not too often, and I mostly ride off commuting hours myself, not to mention less traffic anyway the direction I tend to roll.

I have hook up with other rides sharing pulls over 20mph only to let the other rider go when he maintained pace when we got closer in to the more heavy use towards Portland zones. Not slowing at all for groups. Worse, passing a group of folks when there are fast bike doing the same thing coming the opposite direction.

OK Done, just glad this is not the rule, but the exception.

10/14/14 10:46 AM

Not done, forgot to criticize the jerks that do this refusing to get off their aero bars. Which IMO they are fucktards for using on a multi-use path anyway. But at least get you hands on the brake lever while encountering congestion.

10/14/14 10:54 AM

Greg, we've all been there at some point back!

I remember my first century was completed with a 1/4 mile "loop" around the parking lot!

(But in the back of my mind, that wasn't a completed century. It took another one that's well over 100 mi that I felt it was really a true completed century. It's also my own idea that unless something is done more than once, it's not truly "accomplished". It's just a one off! So if I were on Strava, any KOM climb that hadn't been repeated by the same rider within a close time doesn't count!)

Some people just can't turn off their competitive instinct. That's what makes them successful in other part of life. It may get in the way of them enjoying their fruit of success but they can't help it. Their behavior ruin it for others too, but yours will be less ruined if you can look past it. I know a few in my group that can't help themselves. We all know about it and are level about it. Unpleasant it maybe at first, I can get used to it without getting grumpy.

Some people are so insecure, they NEED to "win" in some way to affirm their manhood (or womanhood, it's not exclusively male thing). They're the worst because they couldn't see it themselves so won't admit to it. To that end, they would even cheat and don't you ever call them out on their cheat! I have no other feeling but pity for those. When I lead rides, I make subtle hints for them NOT to come. :-( (it's not hard to discourage them from coming, I just use language in the ride description to indicate it's going to be an "unworthy" ride with no bragging rights!)

10/14/14 11:08 AM

all of that above and more. None of these folks are "brave" enough to expose themselves as to where they rank to everyone else by pulling a license and pinning on a number. I know so many "alpha's" who have something to prove on a group ride yet would never enter a race as that would reveal the unvarnished truth which are results of a race. That is the ultimate lesson in humility as I get a report card every race I enter and although for me the results are not pretty it doesn't stop me from trying. When I am on the bike path I know the facility is for families and children. It bothers me that those wannabees in the aerobars are Walter Mittys endangering those moms dads and kids to satisfy their fantasies....

10/14/14 11:21 AM

I enjoy Strava a lot. The great majority of KOMs are out of reach for me anyway with hundreds if not thousands on our local leaderboards. I use it track my own fitness and confirm my effort on any given ride.

I use Strava to find new routes in familiar and unfamiliar areas, see what friends are riding and how fast their segment times are, and have met new runners in my area.

Also great for tracking mileage on equipment and shoes. My main goal is to get x number of hours of exercise per year--bike or run.

Strava gets a big thumbs up from me.

Last edited by sanrensho on 10/14/14 12:32 PM; edited 1 time in total

10/14/14 11:37 AM

sanrensho has the right idea, make the lemonade.


Erik, it occurred to me to coin them sKOMbags...


My main Strava rants are my own short tempered tolerance to having a few too many times of not getting the data. I have short tolerance for wasting my time and having it be for naught. ;) Admittedly, Strave FUs were not all that common. But I got a rash of them in a row, probably while they where updating or something. But free, you get what you pay for.

I do recall Erik saying he felt the yearly fee was not spent in vane. Actually, that is softly worded, his comment was more positive than my representation there. ;)

My phone goes in airplane mode while I am riding anymore. So rides do not cause one more thing I have to make sure I do related to riding. Two actually, make sure it is charged to start, and also when finished. Running GPS for a few hours is a battery eater, especially on a 2 year old phone. ;)

Maybe if Strava showed where you where in real time before you save a ride, it could have a location tool usefulness.

I am thinking about this more now that weather and riding will have me in the woods solo. If I do not show up after a ride, some process to find me related to the phone would be good.

Is there an app for that, and if yeas, what is it??

10/14/14 11:46 AM

https://www.roadid.com/ecrumbs

10/14/14 1:05 PM

i use an app called <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greenalp.RealtimeTracker&hl=en">Real Time GPS</a>...it allows my wife to see where i am and progress on whatever route im doing.

gives her peace-of-mind and me a peaceful ride. of course i warned her that if she got all nutsy with it, i'd stop using it completely!

i'll check out the road-id option.

Last edited by walter on 10/14/14 1:52 PM; edited 3 times in total

10/14/14 1:21 PM

Thanks Rick.

I see no place either in FAQs, searching google in general for that info, or at the Google play store if the app has a cost or not. Do you know offhand?

10/14/14 1:28 PM

I lost rides all the time using their phone app. Buggy recording. A Garmin or other standalone GPS device is a must.

10/14/14 1:32 PM

"Lost rides all the time using their phone app"

I lost the context, Strava or Road ID did you mean?

10/14/14 1:35 PM

i just tested it out...it's much nicer than the app i was using. you just need to register and then activate your account via email. easy as pie.

10/14/14 1:39 PM

I lost half of one ride this summer. Other than that it has been great on my old iPhone 4 and 5s.

I really like Strava and pay for the extra data each year. I would point out that the estimated power data has turned to shit since the health kit update came out. Rides that would be estimated at 200+ watts average are now in the 150 range and I am going faster over the same route. My weight and bike weight are correct and always have been. If they don't get that corrected I will drop the access to the extra data. Even if the numbers are not totally accurate that is fine but they must be consistent to have any meaning at all.

10/14/14 1:45 PM

"If they don't get that corrected I will drop the access to the extra data"

They should have made sure the data said more and not less I guess. ;) ;) [two smiley faces]

10/14/14 1:53 PM

Consistant. That is all I ask for.

I tried roadID before, this build is much better. I will use it now.

Last edited by ErikS on 10/14/14 1:56 PM; edited 1 time in total

10/14/14 1:55 PM

erik and i had several exchanges about this before -- they consistently under-interpret power data, to the tune of ~20 watts on level ground...the fact their numbers have gotten even lower is quite surprising.

10/14/14 1:57 PM

I sent you and Sparky a screen shot of a segment you can see just how jacked up the numbers are now.

10/14/14 2:57 PM

I don't use Strava. But this problem of meaningless and baseless data is everywhere! For example, I use RideWithGPS to map my routes. Lately, I record my rides with my new Garmin and upload it to RWG. Guess what? The elevation "data" is everywhere!

2 days ago, I did a ride which RWG initially estimated to be 3500', which seems right since there're e3 big climbs adding up to about 3000, plus the odds and ends of little bumps, 3500' seems right in the ballpark...

When I finished and upload the data, it's telling me I did 5500'. There's simply no way I would have racked up those extra 2000'. The mountain is simply not that high. I would hate to be the victim in believing that number and then plan other trips based on that "data".

Last edited by April on 10/14/14 3:07 PM; edited 2 times in total

10/14/14 3:05 PM

"I lost the context, Strava or Road ID did you mean?"

Strava. On Android, it's flaky.

10/14/14 3:11 PM

@April your Garmin is much more accurate. It uses barometric direct readings which is much more sensitive to elevation changes than your phone will ever be.

It sees every little bump in the road. To a fault as you noted.

10/14/14 4:46 PM

"Strava. On Android, it's flaky."


Ahh, maybe that is why Erik does not piss and moan about Strava like I do/did. He is an Apple guy, and I also used it on Android.

10/14/14 5:28 PM

Mind you, I don't use iPhones so I'm not comparing. But the Android app has been flaky IME.

10/14/14 6:41 PM

I rode with a guy Monday, he used his android and had no issues though we did differ by 1 kilometer or so after 75 kilometers.

10/16/14 2:12 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIariF1BVYQ&hd=1

10/16/14 4:06 AM

quote:

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Lately, I record my rides with my new Garmin and upload it to RWG. Guess what? The elevation "data" is everywhere!

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