I know KOM is NBD to the 41
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#28
I'm doing it wrong.
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I agree with how you look at Strava and records. Sometimes it is fun to have a rabbit to chase so to speak. Even one that you know is not something real or of a measurable value other than for fun. A follow on question if I may and please excuse the hijack. This is something I was pondering but not enough to start a thread.
I was on vacation on a long thin island in the outer banks and got a 3 mile long segment KOM that was largely due to a honking strong tail wind and outbound car traffic that I found makes holes as each car passes. I was bored one afternoon and saw that the winds and ferry timing was just about right for just about anything to move fast. I am not KOM crazy and am thinking of deleting the ride as it is not indicative of my power and skill. Thoughts?
I did grab another one that I plan to keep. While it did have some tail wind I hammered at top HR for the entire 12 mile pass and I suspect that all the other fast runs on that segment were also tail wind rides. it is an island and there is always some wind.
I was on vacation on a long thin island in the outer banks and got a 3 mile long segment KOM that was largely due to a honking strong tail wind and outbound car traffic that I found makes holes as each car passes. I was bored one afternoon and saw that the winds and ferry timing was just about right for just about anything to move fast. I am not KOM crazy and am thinking of deleting the ride as it is not indicative of my power and skill. Thoughts?
I did grab another one that I plan to keep. While it did have some tail wind I hammered at top HR for the entire 12 mile pass and I suspect that all the other fast runs on that segment were also tail wind rides. it is an island and there is always some wind.
I'd keep it. I'm just joking about the flagging or rides, in all honesty, unless it is outright ridiculous, like driving your car up a 20% incline at 45miles per hour with the garmin registering it. Those kinds of things need to be flagged and removed. Sounds to me like someone can encounter the same conditions as you on that segment, so no, I don't think it's strava doping.
I think the value of the strava "awards" are really in the personal records. They also make an attainable goal if you ever get stuck off the bike for a time, with an illness or work related thing. I was off for the better part of three weeks recently for an illness and am now trying to get back. The segments and personal records are helping me with a goal to reach.
#29
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#30
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#32
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I have a few KOMs but they are mostly sparsely run local hills averaging over 10%. My best result imo is the 6.2% twisty climb that I got third on out of over 1500 people. It has a nasty 11% bit right at the top when you're running out of steam. I can average 14 mph, but the Strava pro rider can do 18 mph... I blame my bike
This climb is shielded by trees so wind doesn't play a role.
This climb is shielded by trees so wind doesn't play a role.
Since I'm new to cycling, but hail from another endurance sport, I have just found myself chasing more manageable KoMs. I can't think of any or many local KoMs on hills. I can think of a downhill, which is 1 of the 3 performances I have in the top 8. I averaged 35~ish. The leader is something like 40.2 MPH with second at 40.1 MPH. I top out at 41 at the bottom of the hill, but I'd have to get there much earlier to get it.
I might make a segment up the other half to compare myself with others.
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Thumbs down to downhill segments. They encourage risky cornering on open roads. Flat segments and climbs rarely involve breaking the speed limit or taking turns at speeds that could catch a rider out if he or she encounters an obstacle or car halfway through. I've done road races on twisty, hilly courses with sketchy descents and it's good fun when the road is closed, but otherwise I don't see the point in attacking that sort of segment.
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Thumbs down to downhill segments. They encourage risky cornering on open roads. Flat segments and climbs rarely involve breaking the speed limit or taking turns at speeds that could catch a rider out if he or she encounters an obstacle or car halfway through. I've done road races on twisty, hilly courses with sketchy descents and it's good fun when the road is closed, but otherwise I don't see the point in attacking that sort of segment.
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47 kph in the drops with the weight of 90 kg is about 6 W/kg (550 W). For 2:20, that's a very strong result. Compare, for example, with Brian Toone's power chart that I stumbled upon while googling. https://toonecycling.files.wordpress....mphouse-cp.gif (In case you don't know, Brian Toone is a cat 1 racer from Alabama who regularly pulls off some incredible feats in Strava challenges, like doing 42000 feet of elevation in one calendar day.) His 2:20 power was right around 500 W. I'm not a racer and my personal best 2:20 power is 360 W. (I also weigh substantially less than 90 kg, but that does not matter much in the flats.)
If we assume a 10 km/h tailwind, your power requirement goes down from 550 W to a much more realistic 360 W (4 W/kg).
As an additional tell, look at the last couple of miles of your ride home. You average 30 km/h on El Camino Real (southeast). As soon as you turn on Pineloch (southwest), your average speed jumps from 30 km/h to 36 km/h. This is perfectly consistent with doing ~260 W into 10 km/h headwind on El Camino Real and doing the same 260 W in crosswind on Pineloch.
Last edited by hamster; 08-12-13 at 02:38 PM.
#36
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Why would you delete the ride? You'd literally be the only honest strava user. I have some top 5/10s in the outer banks (near Duck) that are 25+mph for 8-10 miles solo. No way would I be able to do that without a wicked tail wind. I'm 100% sure the top times out there were all wind-aided and/or on TT bikes.
But most of the time wind blows in the same direction every day so it's hard to take unfair advantage. In San Diego, wind is from the west between 9 am and 9 pm 360 days in a year.
I find it relatively easy to snag short KOMs, 1.5 minutes or less. Most people would be riding at their FTPs. I can put out 2.5-3x an average guy's FTP for 1 minute (of course, so can anyone else). That's usually enough to get into the top 10% and occasionally enough to get a KOM. Longer flat KOMs are strongly influenced by wind and drafting. Long climbs are the worst kind. Once the median segment time gets above 10-15 minutes, there are no tricks, wind does not matter, it's just a pure test of stamina.
#37
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It would be pretty unusual to have a strong crosswind on a segment running southeast to northwest in Houston (unless you ride it in the middle of a hurricane). The normal wind pattern is a southeasterly sea breeze, which, on this segment, would be a tailwind. Weather stations https://www.wunderground.com/weathers...h=08&year=2013 https://www.wunderground.com/weathers...y=10&year=2013 concur, showing a 20 km/h southeasterly wind onshore (stations further inland show conflicting information, probably because some of them have wind sensors shaded by trees.)
47 kph in the drops with the weight of 90 kg is about 6 W/kg (550 W). For 2:20, that's a very strong result. Compare, for example, with Brian Toone's power chart that I stumbled upon while googling. https://toonecycling.files.wordpress....mphouse-cp.gif (In case you don't know, Brian Toone is a cat 1 racer from Alabama who regularly pulls off some incredible feats in Strava challenges, like doing 42000 feet of elevation in one calendar day.) His 2:20 power was right around 500 W. I'm not a racer and my personal best 2:20 power is 360 W. (I also weigh substantially less than 90 kg, but that does not matter much in the flats.)
If we assume a 10 km/h tailwind, your power requirement goes down from 550 W to a much more realistic 360 W (4 W/kg).
As an additional tell, look at the last couple of miles of your ride home. You average 30 km/h on El Camino Real (southeast). As soon as you turn on Pineloch (southwest), your average speed jumps from 30 km/h to 36 km/h. This is perfectly consistent with doing ~260 W into 10 km/h headwind on El Camino Real and doing the same 260 W in crosswind on Pineloch.
47 kph in the drops with the weight of 90 kg is about 6 W/kg (550 W). For 2:20, that's a very strong result. Compare, for example, with Brian Toone's power chart that I stumbled upon while googling. https://toonecycling.files.wordpress....mphouse-cp.gif (In case you don't know, Brian Toone is a cat 1 racer from Alabama who regularly pulls off some incredible feats in Strava challenges, like doing 42000 feet of elevation in one calendar day.) His 2:20 power was right around 500 W. I'm not a racer and my personal best 2:20 power is 360 W. (I also weigh substantially less than 90 kg, but that does not matter much in the flats.)
If we assume a 10 km/h tailwind, your power requirement goes down from 550 W to a much more realistic 360 W (4 W/kg).
As an additional tell, look at the last couple of miles of your ride home. You average 30 km/h on El Camino Real (southeast). As soon as you turn on Pineloch (southwest), your average speed jumps from 30 km/h to 36 km/h. This is perfectly consistent with doing ~260 W into 10 km/h headwind on El Camino Real and doing the same 260 W in crosswind on Pineloch.
Interesting to find my speed goes up on pineloch. El camino always feels fast to me and pineloch is always the hardest part of the ride. Visually, its a slight incline/false flat.
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I just wanna add that I dont have any monitoring equipment on my bike. I spend the first 3-5 miles getting good and warmed up, then I drop into the aerobars(clip ons on a standard road bike) and give the maximum effort I think I can sustain for 2 hours. No comp, no speed, no cadence, no power. I check my phone when I get home but thats about it.
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Originally Posted by hamster
Longer flat KOMs are strongly influenced by wind and drafting. Long climbs are the worst kind. Once the median segment time gets above 10-15 minutes, there are no tricks, wind does not matter, it's just a pure test of stamina.
That's a 36 mile ride I did in the outer banks a couple months back. I wasn't trying to hammer, just going at a steady pace. Look how my speed drops off a cliff when I turn around. Felt great on the way out, though!!
#40
Hills hurt.. Couches kill
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Is there a stoplight with a left turn across traffic in that segment? Dang! Nice hat by the way.
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Good job, way to git some! Just dont freak out when 6 racer-dudes in a pace line jump your standing.
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You have AT&T? Dahell?
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Thumbs down to downhill segments. They encourage risky cornering on open roads. Flat segments and climbs rarely involve breaking the speed limit or taking turns at speeds that could catch a rider out if he or she encounters an obstacle or car halfway through. I've done road races on twisty, hilly courses with sketchy descents and it's good fun when the road is closed, but otherwise I don't see the point in attacking that sort of segment.
OP, congrats on the KOM. Although we all have no illusions on what they are or what they aren't, it's still an accomplishment... Especially when tackling the same one month after month.
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