Is this normal for a Strava newbie?

pinkteapot

Joined Strava yesterday and back-filled all my data from when I started cycling in Feb.

Instead of the 30-40 mile cruise I would normally have done this morning, I did 14 miles, sprinting like a madwoman on the bits I knew were Strava segments and poodling along in between.

Strava's turned me into an interval trainer!

Assume that segment obsession is normal to start with and hoping it wears off a bit.

Cleat Eastwood

Thats the best bit treating as intervals - you can really improvements - trouble is you end up more knackered after a ride

JackPozzi

The worst bit is when you go out and absolutely batter yourself over a segment to the point where you can barely even see at the end, then you get home and upload it and find that your time isn't even in the top 300. Most disheartening

pinkteapot

A couple this morning were on shared-use pedestrian-cyclist footpath. Going for QOMs and being courteous to pedestrians are hard to balance. :?

chrisaonabike

JackPozzi wrote:

then you get home and upload it and find that your time isn't even in the top 300. Most disheartening

I try to do two things when I look at a segment.

1: Delude myself that the top few times are not even physically possible
2: Click 'My results'

If I'm not really quick, betwen 1 and 2 I notice my position on the leaderboard, which is almost always in the bottom 25%.

I've given up using it for anything other than just tracking my own progress. Sure as heck not going to pay for Strava premium just to discover that I'm also way slower than the people in my own age/weight category.

Mikey23

yup, entirely normal but you will get over it... when youve done the same seg hundreds of time and you know there isnt a dogs chance of beating your own time you will go ironic and do them slowly...

or wait for tailwind day before giving it some more wellie

pinkteapot

My Strava nemesis (lady with all the local QOMs) has a bike that costs 10 times as much as mine. :shock:

Well chuffed now that I'm only five seconds behind her on a particular segment. It will be mine b&tch!!

VTech

pinkteapot wrote:

My Strava nemesis (lady with all the local QOMs) has a bike that costs 10 times as much as mine. :shock:

Well chuffed now that I'm only five seconds behind her on a particular segment. It will be mine b&tch!!

I did a recent event and there were people older, fatter and uglier than me, on bikes 1/10th of mine who passed me up the hills as I were going backwards Im not sure the bike makes a jot of difference at anything other than high levels.

bianchimoon

don't worry about others times, use it for tracking personal improvement on settled weather days, all the best times are set with tailwinds, it's just fun

alihisgreat

No point in especially targeting segments on shorter rides. Just ride them as an interval within one of your normal length rides.

declan1

bianchimoon wrote:

don't worry about others times, use it for tracking personal improvement on settled weather days, all the best times are set with tailwinds, it's just fun

Don't listen to this guy, he doesn't know what he's talking about :roll:



Only joking!