strava, half the battle

lastwords
lastwords Posts: 304
edited August 2012 in MTB general
Just recently i have been trying to improve some of my segment times.
I have been feeling good on the bike but thats half the battle i have found dealing with dogs etc has ruined my chances on several occasions.

I think im due some luck and some clean runs soon.

Today whilst riding a local downhill segment i was flying but had to slow down for a couple stood on the track they saw me but didnt move, when i got home i was 1second off my PR what a bummer.

Anyone else had this?

Comments

  • warpcow
    warpcow Posts: 1,448
    Yes, it's called riding on public land/trails/whatever.
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  • ilovedirt
    ilovedirt Posts: 5,798
    I guess you just have to put up with it if you're riding bridleways/footpaths in fairly popular areas like the peaks. After all, they have as much right to be there as you. This is half the reason I love North Wales so much, you rarely see anyone when you're out riding natural trails!
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The curse of Strava. Been a lot of debate over what it's doing and the dangers it's causing.

    I'd just turn the tracking on and forget about it. Ride as usual and concentrate on skills rather than times. Then at home compare the times to previous runs just out of interest.

    After a trip to Jedi and applying the new skills, I'm not hammering down trails with loads of energy trying to improve times, I just work on the skills and funny enough I've ended up being faster down some trails even though it felt slow. Smoother, more controlled, less reckless, with potentially improved performance. And you're more likely to react in plenty of time to the other people who have a right to use the trails as much as you do. And if your run is interrupted, so be it, just ride on and there's always another time. Just have fun.
  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    warpcow wrote:
    Yes, it's called riding on public land/trails/whatever.

    Thanks for clearing that up
  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    Sounds like a plan deadkenny.

    I always ride with safety around others my top priority.

    Probably doing too much road riding has made me look at speeds all the time lol, need to get my mtb,er hat back on.
  • warpcow
    warpcow Posts: 1,448
    lastwords wrote:
    warpcow wrote:
    Yes, it's called riding on public land/trails/whatever.

    Thanks for clearing that up

    Sorry, was tired and it wasn't really aimed at you. Just seen some people try to justify really bad riding/etiquette by citing "It was a Strava run!". I'll admit it, I'm proud of my KOMs. If you think about the general accuracy of GPS though, if it said you were 1sec slower, you might really have been 5secs faster, so it's just not something to lose sleep over. Deadkenny's answer does sound good and sort of matches my own experience.
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  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    No problem.

    I love using strava as it makes me want to ride more and thats always a bonus :). On the road the wind and traffic play a big part on some KOM's you also dont know if the person was riding in a group or had a lead out, there are some mtb segments that dont see so much influence from wind due to the woods blocking it (although ground conditions do), riding groups and leadouts dont happen in mtb'ing at least i think not, so i like to think mtb segments offer a better view of peoples fitness / skill levels.

    There is a 3.2m loop near me that i have ridden for years i am 4th, 1minute 3seconds off the pace, however since the KOM was set the farmer has put down lots of hardcore on one section which slows you down, this loop is all farmtrack so ground conditions after rains are still good.
  • Emphursis
    Emphursis Posts: 124
    deadkenny wrote:
    I've ended up being faster down some trails even though it felt slow.

    That's almost invariably the way. On a couple of segments I've created in the local woods, I've set new PB's by big margins on runs where it seemed like I was crawling along!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Annoyingly most of my PBs are on climbs now. I don't ride for climbs, only climb for descents and really not aiming at nailing them, but I keep getting faster up them through plain fitness. Annoying as it worries me that I'll end up being a roadie :D

    Though on segments where part is fast downhill and part is a bit pedally with some climb, though I hate the latter I do have a chance of beating fellow riders.

    On the subject of climbs though, Strava should really do a different ranking for descents. KOM is traditionally a climbing thing ;)

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