Originally Posted by kbarch

... Even at a small local race, a dozen or so folks can see what you do when you do it, and that can be pretty thrilling for all. A Strava KoM, not so much; it's just numbers, and even the best imagination about what those numbers mean is no match for the visceral, automatic thrill of a victory in a head-to-head competition as it happens. With a Strava KoM or trophy, unless it's part of an organized event, the winner and witnesses (if there even are any) don't know about it until well after the fact, and the competitors have to imagine their competition, and often have little or no conception of who they are or when they may be competing. Any "victory" is completely abstract and the result of analysis after the fact. ...