Trending Faster is Fun
 

One of my common routes over the years is a 15 mile out and back with a little climbing. I remember usually doing it in about an hour because I would tell my wife that I'd be back in an hour and I was. But the last few years it was taking me 1:10, 1:15 or more. Today, I pushed it a little to see if I could get back in an hour and I did it. I recently upgraded from my 11 year old Free Strava to a subscription and can see my old rides again. Ten years ago was the last time before today that I did this route in 58 minutes and my average heart rate for the ride is the same.

This news is worth the subscription for me. If you are a STRAVA user without a prescription and you get that free two months offer, I highly recommend you sign up for it if you are like me and question your current capacity for training/fitness.

congrats on the effort/results

STRAVA = :thumb: but that's for me and to each their own. Due to many health issues, pushing it and viewing results on STRAVA is not gonna happen any longer so it was time to rethink my riding.

2 rides today --
1st at night - https://www.strava.com/activities/8501712604
2nd in day - https://www.strava.com/activities/8504995806

a few weeks ago -
https://www.strava.com/activities/8416168849

I can look at my rides, heart rate, VO2 max, cadence, etc all in Garmin Connect. $0

bet your garmin unit that collects the data to Connect wasn’t free. I know my Garmin Edge 830 certainly wasn’t free. Just like the cadence, HRM and speed sensors weren’t free either. But yes, Connect was ‘free’.

However; I did buy two additional sets of Garmin compatible sensors, including HRM, for less than one quarter of the price on AliExpress - shipping included, and they all connect and work great.

Well, how does Strava collect the data? You need a GPS unit of some sort, and if you want heartrate, cadence, etc, you need those sensors as well. Strava doesn't magically pull those numbers out of thin air. I had Strava and dumped it. I don't get your point. Or maybe you don't have one.

If all my rides over the last 11 years were on Connect, I’d probably be satisfied too. Before subscriptions, Strava let me access my entire set of data which was collected via my iPhone. Segment data was collected also with no effort on my part. I’m only suggesting a subscription if all your historical rides are behind the paywall and you are curious where you stand compared to your old younger self.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9a1da03bf2.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b41794c41.png

Does it allow you to compare rides side by side or do you have to manually trawl through all your past data? I have both Strava and Garmin Connect, but don’t really use the latter very much. Strava has a much better interface for casual performance tracking over the same route.

Thanks for asking. I ALWAYS carry my mobile phone in case of emergency or if I need to look at a map. Carrying a phone makes my wife feel better and if I do need 911, it’s handy. I just downloaded the Strava app to the phone.

Strava, even the free version, runs off the phone and you can wear a HRM which will collect the data and send to your phone via Bluetooth.

Don’t know about a phone and cadence though. There are probably some cadence sensors which may transmit to an app - maybe your Garmin does that.
My Garmin head unit collects all the data, and sends it to Strava where it is far easier to review than through the Garmin unit. I like stats, goals, challenges and seeing where others ride so I can use their routes. But different strokes and all that. Happy cycling. :beer:

No, you would have to manually look at rides over the same route. For me, that's not really that important. I'm a cardiac patient, so I tend to track things like my average and maximum HR over a period of time. Connect with do that for me.

I've been using Strava for many years, subscription. It's interesting and helpful. I like it. Costs me $.22/day. I can handle it even on fixed income. If one is riding for sport, I rather don't see what the issue is. I've also been a RWGPS subscriber since, I don't know, they got started? I'm happy to pay for services which make my sporting life easier and/or more fun.

Personally, I have embraced the "slower is fun" chain of thought. I call my recent changes in cycling "MY return to bike sanity". There have been a lot of changes. Other than just plain riding, comfort has become my main priority, with reducing the dollars spent on cycling being a close second. I have no need of Strava or any other tracker. I have basic bike computers mounted, but they are just for quick reference to miles, time on bike, and time of day.

You also can create private segments for your regular routes, and segments show you even more than a similar ride comparison. You can make your segments as long or as short as you like. The segment Leaderboard table shows speed, heart rate, and power for each ride.

Here's a segment I ride occasionally:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e583e98e24.png

I just rode it a few days ago and posted my best time. But does that mean I'm more fit than last year, or did I simply try harder?

The answer lies in the Power-to-Heart Rate ratio (Pw:HR). Simply divide the segment's power by heart rate. My recent ride's Pw:HR was 1.24, while last year's fastest ride's Pw:HR was only 1.10.

So, Pw:HR suggests my fitness improved over last July, which makes me doubly happy. One, because better is, well, better. Two, because it's only February.

Another reason I like the Pw:HR reading: it means I don't have to bust a gut trying to set a PR every ride, just to see if my fitness level is improving.

A while back, Strava stopped supporting HR sensors and I had to borrow my kids Garmin. Did Strava start again?

Here you go: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/...the-Strava-app

Fantastic. I was disappointed when they stopped the HR monitor thing and then went to a Wahoo app to collect data and relay it to Strava.

I have way too many apps. I’ve had TrainingPeaks subscription going back at least 10 years, a paid Strava subscription, Garmin Connect, and I’m experimenting with intervals.icu to see if I can use that to replace TrainingPeaks.

I thought not, which is why I use Strava a lot more than Garmin Connect, even though I use a Garmin Edge 530. Funnily enough all my friends use Strava too for their main ride logging. Connect has a few interesting features, but it's quite different to Strava and lacks a lot of Strava's key functionality - like matched ride comparisons.

HR is somewhat dynamic in responding to temperature, power output and heat dissipation. Here you have a similar segment so I imagine that helps with a comparison. But should we expect linearity over a range of HRs and if so, what range?

Otto

I find HR too variable to make absolute comparisons. Sometimes a relatively low HR can simply mean you are fatigued, even if your power appears to be equal. The clue there is your perceived effort for the ride.

Fast can be fun, but I’ve always been a slow-ish rider. When I feel like going fast, I ride a fast bike. I don’t record my speed or time, only my distance. I only use Strava so my family can track me - I’m an old guy who usually rides alone.

When I started living alone, my daughter asked me to turn on Find My, “so we know where to find the body”. 😄

No. However watching HR w/r to power results for repetitions of the same route on different days can be a learning experience if it's not windy.

Good question, I have no idea what the answer is. I just go with “increasing Pw:HR number over time indicates improving fitness”.

The folks at Cycling Analytics have a cool way to chart power and heart rate for a ride. The example data fall roughly (very roughly) on a linear trend.

To be fair, phones are not $0 either. I probably wouldn't have one if it wasn't supplied by my office.

Being 65, I still get a kick out of trending faster. That’s always a good sign. Never have I heard someone say “oh crap I’m getting faster!”. Strava is a useful tool though is getting more exaggerated by the season. But I still like to compare myself with others in a positive manner.