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Strava = motivate you?

Old 09-10-21, 12:48 PM
  #1  
thehammerdog
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Strava = motivate you?

Strava legends stuff i find fun. To be the local legend on a favorite ride or segment i find exciting.
hope to take back title today....
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Old 09-10-21, 12:53 PM
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What is Strava? I've only heard it shouted by *******s nearly running into people on the trails.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:00 PM
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I find some motivation on Strava, but Local Legend doesn't move the needle at all.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:04 PM
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Nothing on Strava motivates me. I just use it to keep track of daily mileage, yearly mileage and mileage on each bike I own.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:05 PM
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^ agreed. i've lost local legend titles that i didn't even know (or care) i had.

i'm happy if i get another PR. hard to come by these days.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:11 PM
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I don't use strava.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:13 PM
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unterhausen
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I had to make the call of shame recently, and my wife drove me home. I forgot to turn off my gps, so she got third on one of the segments. It was a descent, her speed didn't even register on the climbs. Granted, it's a gravel road and she was being somewhat cautious. It turns out it's easy to crop rides on strava, so I did before someone flagged me. I am not sure how they would tell though, since the cyclists are faster than a car.

I was the local legend on one of the climbs out there, which is a little surprising. I didn't do anything about it when they told me someone else took over. OTOH, I thought my time on that segment was too slow, so I decided to beat it. It's a long climb and takes me almost 50 minutes. So I pushed myself a lot harder than usual and did it a minute faster. So I was motivated by strava, at least for one ride
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Old 09-10-21, 01:14 PM
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No.
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Old 09-10-21, 01:24 PM
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I lost a local legend the other week when somebody else rode that segment a second time. I'll let it go.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:04 PM
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AFAIK, Local Legend simply means you had the most attempts in the last 30, 60, or 90 days or whatever it is, but not that you did any of those attempts more quickly than anyone else did. I think it's a nice feature/achievement for those who don't have the top end performance to go fast, yet have the dedication to ride more often than those who do. But Local Legend status doesn't "motivate" me to ride more. On the other hand, KOM's and PR's on segments (especially while using the Garmin feature where you can race your best time, in real-time) motivates me to no end, and is likely responsible for blowing out my knees a few years ago. Icarus syndrome.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:14 PM
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I've taken to doing interval work on the ring road around the local 9-hole muni golf course. Looks like I'm far and away the Local Legend on that loop: 169 efforts in the last 90 days. Funny thing is that number 2 is my kid.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:19 PM
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Because there are SO MANY CYCLISTS around here, getting a 'Local Legend' for a segment suggests I may be stuck in a rut. However, I really don't mind riding the same routes over and over, so that's not a problem for me. The other thing about the number and caliber of the cyclists hereabouts is that I will never, ever take a KOM, unless the segment is something like going up the steps from the garage in my house.

I like to keep getting PRs on segments, but I don't go out trying to get specific ones. I just ride, and sometimes ride hard, and it happens or not.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:20 PM
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I couldnt care less about 'local legend' status. It means nothing to me as its just documenting frequency. I rode an arbitrary segment more than others?...oh wow, good to know. To me, that is the participation ribbon of Strava.

I am motivated by some segments, yes. They are typically segments that are well thought out and I ride at least a handful of times a season.
Segments that are a single block long, or run thru multiple stop lights, or are on busy MUPs are straight up dumb and I ignore those. But there is a 5mi long gravel segment that has 4 good hills that I am a local legent on, and each time I ride it I definitely work hard on that segment. I work hard because I want to see how that day's ride compares to previous rides on the segment.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:21 PM
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I don't use Strava.

I have a basic bike computer on each of my bikes and I keep a cycling log on my phone.

I can see why some people like it and for them great. I'm more motivated by the bathroom scale and challenging myself. I will never be young enough or fit enough to challenge anyone on Strava for any record. It might be cool to track the MTB roads/mileage with Strava but I use a different app for that and it suits me.
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Old 09-10-21, 02:54 PM
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Nopes.
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Old 09-10-21, 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by genejockey
Because there are SO MANY CYCLISTS around here, getting a 'Local Legend' for a segment suggests I may be stuck in a rut. However, I really don't mind riding the same routes over and over, so that's not a problem for me. The other thing about the number and caliber of the cyclists hereabouts is that I will never, ever take a KOM, unless the segment is something like going up the steps from the garage in my house.

I like to keep getting PRs on segments, but I don't go out trying to get specific ones. I just ride, and sometimes ride hard, and it happens or not.
just make your driveway a segment. you're sure to get local legend.
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Old 09-10-21, 03:09 PM
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What's a strava?
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Old 09-10-21, 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by spelger
just make your driveway a segment. you're sure to get local legend.
I already do get Local Legends. It's KOMs I don't get.
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Old 09-10-21, 03:18 PM
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Strava and GarminConnect sort of make me feel like I'm playing T-ball. Everyone gets a trophy.

I'm so glad RideWithGPS doesn't pester me with all those false accolades.


I guess it's motivation for some, but it's a turn off for me.
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Old 09-10-21, 03:28 PM
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When I remember to use it, and don’t forget my phone, I like fitmeter bike basic.
Tim
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Old 09-10-21, 03:31 PM
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+1 - Strava itself doesn't "motivate" me. It's my own improvement and results that motivate me. I only use it to keep track of daily mileage, yearly mileage and mileage on each bike I own.

+1 - Strava feels to me like they give out participation trophies. That's just fine for the folks that grew up in that environment. I grew up when if you couldn't hit the baseball well you sat on the bench.



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Old 09-10-21, 03:32 PM
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The only way Strava motivates me is when I look at my yearly mileage and realize I need to ride some more if I want to meet my goal. Other than that, I could give two flips about KOM's and Local Legend status.
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Old 09-10-21, 03:57 PM
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Strava is OK for keeping track of my rides, and those of my friends. I even own a few KOMs. But it's certainly not motivation. And "Local Legends" is sort of pathetic. It just means you've traversed that particular segment more times than anyone else.

But if it gets you to ride more, I guess it's all good.
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Old 09-10-21, 06:46 PM
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Since COVID and not riding in with my buddies I found Strava and have been delivered. I have always been competitive (I know many folks aren’t, thank you very much) and I can compete against myself, gaining PRs, KOMs (if I get in the top 10 at 66 it makes my day) and best of all, getting fastest segment speed/time against my age group. It motivates me to train harder and to push myself. I never participated in formal training programs but plan to this winter using ZWIFT. Different strokes of different folks, but for me, Strava has opened a whole new world of competition - against myself. Besides their route mapping function is totally cool.

PS it also has a social network which is cool for meeting people (post COVID) and seeing where they ride and finding new routes. Always looking for new routes.
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Old 09-10-21, 06:54 PM
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I've always used Garmin connect to track miles and rides, like always. So what am I missing not doing strava and would it upload from a garmin device?
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