Giving Up on Strava
#1
Thread Starter
- Soli Deo Gloria -
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 14,779
Likes: 743
From: Northwest Georgia
Bikes: 2018 Rodriguez Custom Fixed Gear, 2017 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2015 Bianchi Pista, 2002 Fuji Robaix
Giving Up on Strava
Yeah, disconnected Polar so that it doesn't upload to Strava.
Not angry. Don't hate it. I actually think its pretty cool. Just doesn't really do anything for me.
Get some kudos... Look at the flyby... Give a kudo... Send a note to a good friend who I really should have called on the phone instead. Blah blah blah... Just tired of it, that's all.
I'm sorry to have to do this to you all. I know you will all miss me. Given enough time I'm sure that the local cycling scene here in Middleofnowhere, Georgia will recover. It's for the best. You all will just have to trust me on this.
Yell "Strava! if you see me. Or just wave. Or don't. Doesn't matter. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's goatta do.
Just felt like saying that. Thanks for listening.
-The Rider Formerly Known as Tim-
Not angry. Don't hate it. I actually think its pretty cool. Just doesn't really do anything for me.
Get some kudos... Look at the flyby... Give a kudo... Send a note to a good friend who I really should have called on the phone instead. Blah blah blah... Just tired of it, that's all.
I'm sorry to have to do this to you all. I know you will all miss me. Given enough time I'm sure that the local cycling scene here in Middleofnowhere, Georgia will recover. It's for the best. You all will just have to trust me on this.
Yell "Strava! if you see me. Or just wave. Or don't. Doesn't matter. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's goatta do.
Just felt like saying that. Thanks for listening.
-The Rider Formerly Known as Tim-
#2
#3
I finally signed up for Strava. I've been using their global heat map (to find routes) for a couple years, and now that I have a gravel bike, I'm riding roads that aren't on their map. Figured I kind of owe them.
I don't have my Garmin sync to Strava, though. They don't need my after work loops, and they don't offer me any useful analysis of them. I manually upload the interesting rides that happened when I drove the bike somewhere nice.
You're not completely alone.
I don't have my Garmin sync to Strava, though. They don't need my after work loops, and they don't offer me any useful analysis of them. I manually upload the interesting rides that happened when I drove the bike somewhere nice.
You're not completely alone.
#4
#5
I feel you. There is almost no one in my area. Just me and the diesel trucks.
I quit Strava as well, but only because it is such a hassle compared to the bike speedometer. I fail to see why anyone needs to record their rides on gps anyway.
I quit Strava as well, but only because it is such a hassle compared to the bike speedometer. I fail to see why anyone needs to record their rides on gps anyway.
#7
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 784
Likes: 8
From: NW Chicagoland
Bikes: 2016 Diverge Expert
Not only did I discontinue Strava, I stopped using the HR monitor and computer as well. Maybe I'm not a 'serious' cyclist (I don't race) but somewhere along the way, the joy of cycling derived from just doing it, got lost in all the tracking.
#8
Senior Member

Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 10,588
Likes: 427
From: Southern California, USA
Bikes: 1979 Raleigh Team 753
If riding just to see the view - I guess not. If riding to go faster, get fitter then I can think of some:
For parents to lurk at
For coaches to see
To compare to prior rides on the same segment and see if there is improvement
To see where things went wrong/good on a segment
To confirm how you felt, how the ride looked
To know how far you went - then
To know how fast you went
To see relative ability
To KOM hunt
To brag about
FWIW - I don't use it. I'm a lurking parent of a kid that does.
For parents to lurk at
For coaches to see
To compare to prior rides on the same segment and see if there is improvement
To see where things went wrong/good on a segment
To confirm how you felt, how the ride looked
To know how far you went - then
To know how fast you went
To see relative ability
To KOM hunt
To brag about
FWIW - I don't use it. I'm a lurking parent of a kid that does.
#9
Should Be More Popular




Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 46,226
Likes: 11,772
From: Malvern, PA (20 miles West of Philly)
Bikes: 1986 Alpine (steel road bike), 2009 Ti Habenero, 2013 Specialized Roubaix
#11
Some Guy on the Road
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 423
Likes: 2
From: 614
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot, Trek Domane
#12
FLIR Kitten to 0.05C
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5,331
Likes: 409
From: Lincoln, Nebraska
Bikes: Roadie: Seven Axiom Race Ti w/Chorus 11s. CX/Adventure: Carver Gravel Grinder w/ Di2
#14
Full Member

Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 316
Likes: 43
From: nola area
Bikes: 2017 giant TCR, 2019 Santa Cruz tallboy
i can identify with your opinion, but i don't use it for the social part of it. although i have met some local people to ride with through it, i use it as a training log. i keep a journal that i write down my health issues BP and such. the strava program helps me with the map function. i can track my progress and match with my journal. also by logging with strava i have a backup which came in handy on a recent hard drive failure since i've converted to keeping my journal digitally. combined with road id my wife and family know i'm safe when riding alone, since i had a stroke last year we're all worried about my health and my where abouts during my solo rides. by keeping a journal i can feel good about my healing and weight loss as well as health gains on days when i just don't have it in me, my journal lets me know that there are more good days than bad and how blessed i am in my recovery.
#15
post-ironic
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 802
Likes: 1
From: Brooklyn, NY
Bikes: CAAD 12, Lemond Maillot Jaune
i can identify with your opinion, but i don't use it for the social part of it. although i have met some local people to ride with through it, i use it as a training log. i keep a journal that i write down my health issues BP and such. the strava program helps me with the map function. i can track my progress and match with my journal. also by logging with strava i have a backup which came in handy on a recent hard drive failure since i've converted to keeping my journal digitally. combined with road id my wife and family know i'm safe when riding alone, since i had a stroke last year we're all worried about my health and my where abouts during my solo rides. by keeping a journal i can feel good about my healing and weight loss as well as health gains on days when i just don't have it in me, my journal lets me know that there are more good days than bad and how blessed i am in my recovery.
#18
Peloton Shelter Dog
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 90,508
Likes: 32
From: Chester, NY
Bikes: 2017 Scott Foil, 2016 Scott Addict SL, 2018 Santa Cruz Blur CC MTB
Too bad about Strava, but Greek restaurants get old after a while. Try Luigi's down the street, nice northern Italian cuisine.
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#19
Non omnino gravis
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8,552
Likes: 1,739
From: SoCal, USA!
Bikes: Nekobasu, Pandicorn, Lakitu
This. This right here.
Anyone who thinks Strava is somehow taking away from their "riding experience" is fooling themselves. Track your rides or don't. It truly is your prerogative. But every time one of these threads pops up, there's that contingent that espouses the notion that cycling is somehow "more pure" if done with no electronic tracking. Those people can take their opinions and put them right back up whichever wind hole they fell out of.
I don't race, I'm not in training, but I like numbers. Strava + Stravistix is fantastic. So many numbers. I don't need to track HR, power, or any of it. But I want to. Isn't it wonderful when we can do the things we want and it has zero impact on other people's lives? Sadly, the non-Strava folks are becoming the BF vegans. You know how to tell if a person doesn't use Strava? Easy, they'll let you know at every possible opportunity.
Anyone who thinks Strava is somehow taking away from their "riding experience" is fooling themselves. Track your rides or don't. It truly is your prerogative. But every time one of these threads pops up, there's that contingent that espouses the notion that cycling is somehow "more pure" if done with no electronic tracking. Those people can take their opinions and put them right back up whichever wind hole they fell out of.
I don't race, I'm not in training, but I like numbers. Strava + Stravistix is fantastic. So many numbers. I don't need to track HR, power, or any of it. But I want to. Isn't it wonderful when we can do the things we want and it has zero impact on other people's lives? Sadly, the non-Strava folks are becoming the BF vegans. You know how to tell if a person doesn't use Strava? Easy, they'll let you know at every possible opportunity.
#20
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 28,682
Likes: 63
From: Houston, TX
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
#21
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,138
Likes: 324
Bikes: 2 many
#22
#23
[MENTION=364302]Doge[/MENTION] mentioned VeloViewer, which gets its data from Strava. I like examining routes, and my cycling history, and it's great for that.
I'll occasionally use the social features of Strava, but if that's all there was to it, I could do without it.
I don't know why anyone would need to either, but I find it sort of educational.
I have a tendency to wander around a lot, and after a ride, I'll want to know - where DID I go? Sometimes I'll think I went somewhere I'd heard of before and I'll look at the map and see I actually went somewhere quite different. Or I'll want to tell people about a particularly nice or challenging route that I discovered - or just remember it for my own use - and I'll have to look at the map.
During a ride, I'll develop a mental image of the route, and then I'll look at it later and learn that it actually had a much different shape.
You look at the maps and stats of individual rides often enough - especially when you know the area where they took place - you get to where you can look at someone else's ride and get a very a rich sense of what it was like - it's not just numbers, it's familiar experiences. Kinda like reading a box score of a game you didn't see, but which, when you scrutinize the arrangement of names and numbers, you can definitely imagine.
I'll occasionally use the social features of Strava, but if that's all there was to it, I could do without it.
I don't know why anyone would need to either, but I find it sort of educational.
I have a tendency to wander around a lot, and after a ride, I'll want to know - where DID I go? Sometimes I'll think I went somewhere I'd heard of before and I'll look at the map and see I actually went somewhere quite different. Or I'll want to tell people about a particularly nice or challenging route that I discovered - or just remember it for my own use - and I'll have to look at the map.
During a ride, I'll develop a mental image of the route, and then I'll look at it later and learn that it actually had a much different shape.
You look at the maps and stats of individual rides often enough - especially when you know the area where they took place - you get to where you can look at someone else's ride and get a very a rich sense of what it was like - it's not just numbers, it's familiar experiences. Kinda like reading a box score of a game you didn't see, but which, when you scrutinize the arrangement of names and numbers, you can definitely imagine.
#25
Thread Starter
- Soli Deo Gloria -
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 14,779
Likes: 743
From: Northwest Georgia
Bikes: 2018 Rodriguez Custom Fixed Gear, 2017 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2015 Bianchi Pista, 2002 Fuji Robaix







