I'm a big fan of Strava for the ease of log keeping with my Garmin unit. I don't pay for the premium and I've never looked at who's
#1 or the person ahead of me on a particular segment. I really like the ability to always be in a 'race' with myself and also to track month-over-month improvements.
For almost 14 weeks I did the same identical Saturday morning ride. I appreciated how I could see noticeable gains in speed as well as a drop in total time. The 35 round trip went from a 13.8 average speed to a 16.2 in less than 4 months. I also tracked weight (during that same window) and each ride I'd write a 5-10 sentence paragraph about conditions and how I felt.