Why all cyclists should take a break from Strava and ride unplugged

And yes, it's probably worth adding, the bike in Strava is not used for me to achieve goals, it's more for statistics of the total distance, because I ride only for my own pleasure 🌳🏞️💚🦉

I agree in many ways with the author of the article, when I was a supporter of not using any applications, and especially Strava, but then I tried it and it turned out to be quite normal, and if you want to systematize your workouts, it doesn’t have to be a cycling trip, but also jogging, walking for health or strength and cross fit and even yoga, this may well help you. The best communication is live with your friends and acquaintances, but if they are not around, then why not find loved ones there? 🧡🧡🧡 And also since I joined your interesting site since yesterday 🌞🍵🫖🎶🎶🦉) I'm wondering if there's a common group or community here on Strava?

Mostly, I use a Wahoo because I have no sense of direction or memory for routes and it's useful to be able to redo an interesting route I did a few months ago, or to plan a Sunday club ride so that there's an approximately equal number of km before and after the mid-ride coffee & cake stop.

I got my thinnest in the year I got into Strava because I did find KOM hunting motivating. But my wife pointed out that racing on the roads with cars all the time is dangerous so I gave it up. I am older now and there are more cyclists so I would not be able to get onto leaderboards if I started again. Google activity tells me my mileage.

The only thing I miss is Strava flyby, which is good for finding out who you passed if you both are using Strava.

https://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/

The gizmos we cyclists are sold as 'must haves' are the embodiment of the McNamara fallacy, not everything that can be measured counts and not everything that counts can be measured. For me at least the very best cycling's about exploration not perspiration. 

Quote from a former US president, "Comparison is the thief of joy."

I somewhat agree,  it's good to have all my exercise records.  But for me it can be disheartening seeing how far down the rankings you are when you think you've just smashed a climb and feel strong. 

As well as the data analysis from VeloViewer, I really like one of Strava's lesser features, the heatmaps. Being able to look back over years of rides often encourages / motivates me to want to do particular ones again. 

No. GPS/strava is easily the biggest motivational factor for me. Got me riding again after a 15 year break that was then followed by cancer. Even more motivational than the first thing I tried : a new bike.

To me, Strava was a great tool. A great motivator to ride more, and a magnificent source of great routes. I'd either be told about them, or I would simply see where people are riding and do that myself. In order to ride a lot of those (quite long and hilly) routes I needed to get better, and it allowed me to see if I was getting better.

But there is also a flip side. When I found myself shivering, riding in a drizzle on a cold, dark and unpleasant autumn day, because I "had to" ride to achieve my weekly or monthly distance, I realised it was counterproductive. The primary goal is to enjoy it. So I stopped joining the distance challenges. And it was fine.

It is your decision. I don't know if I am in some way different than other people, but I don't have to take drastic steps to regulate my behaviour. I don't need to leave facebook or twitter or instagram etc. I can just ignore them. I might ride an extra loop to reach some "whole" distance when I'm tired and just want to go home, or I might just remember that this number is quite arbitrary and not at all whole, in, say, miles. I might take the longer route to make the ride a fondo, or I might decide that getting rid of my headache is more important, and finish with 98km ridden. It is your choice.

When I do find myself checking my current power or speed etc. too often, I switch the thing to energy save mode. The screen turns off and you need to wake it by pressing a button when you need it. We should all do it more often. We're supposed to be in the moment, take it all in, instead of acting as a chief engineer on the enterprise and keeping the dilithium core at the correct output level.

With so many more shark-head carnivors on the road these days, the whole KOM thing, for me at least, is ancient history.  Kinda fun (and safer) at the time, but a fad 7-10 years ago, and now it's more about quality of ride and memories riding with people I like.

Educated guess, but it would not surprise me if the rate of change of (road) segment KOMs (gravel is a relatively new phenom) is low presently and that most are locked out amongst a select few high cat competitive athletes in a given area.  If the elites happen to pass through then expect to go from #1 to #100 quicker than the proverbial (high cats included).

The parlous battery life on my Garmin led me to switch the screen off during rides: I can now go by feel while actually out there, and pore obsessively over the stats when I get home. Win-win would be overstating it, but it works for me. 

No thanks. I love my data, stats and seeing where others have ridden.

there are so many ways to use data and gps which facilitate a non competive approach to riding ( though all are still susceptble) having found KOM's past there sell by date most of my interest is monitoring general fitness. The big motivator is doing Explorer Tiling (veloviewer)  to find new routes and places rather than the repetitive rides that have become a staple of so much riding.   

Heart rate, gradient and cadence are all you really need so that you can judge not going into the red and therefore ride further for longer

All these stats are all very well if you're going for maximum performance capability - but none of them show me what I want to know, which is how much my cycle rides affect my expected lifespan, i.e., is being able to shave a minute off a particular route likely to make me live for longer and of so, by how much?

"the thing is that devices and platforms do not make you go faster"

Hmm not true. They motivate you to go faster.

I know if I have my garmin showing my speed I will go faster than if I didn't. In the same way if you have a rider half way up the hill in front of you to chase, you will go faster than if you didn't, or best of all when running late for work I have achieved some of my best averages 😁

I only use data tools like Strava to prove to my wife that I was *actually* doing what I said I was going to be doing ... and not really doing Sylvia in the next village.
That me and her 'husband' appear to do exactly the same route, with exactly the same metrix info doesn't cross her mind ...

Strava isn't only about performance. I like seeing where other people have ridden, which can lead to new routes for me, and looking at the photos er media that they post and the comments underneath. Same goes for devices in general, they're not just about performance. With a computer on my bars I can follow a route in unfamiliar places, very useful if on new territory, and keep an eye on time and distance because I have family obligations. Which maybe the writer of the article doesn't? We can't all float about like clouds...

I wouldn't leave home on a bike without my Wahoo running and the app on my phone running. This is principally so that the live tracking works so my wife can find me if she needs to. My rides then automatically upload to Strava, but to be quite honest I never look at it, and these days rarely get or give Kudos.

A lot of the so called analysis on Strava is nonsense anyway. To prove myself a liar, last weekend I did exactly the same route on Saturday and Monday and I wnet of Strava specifically to compare them. The one in which I KNEW I had worked harder but had achieved a 1kph lower average speed due to an extra 12kph of wind was rated as less intense inspite of me using a heart rate monitor.

I will carry on using Strava, but principally to record my total miles and nothing more.

Always good to take a break from the numbers.....to be honest.... this past year when me and my cycle buddies  have done more Gravel and Bikepacking where numbers are secondary to Navigation, the adventure has been more important. Still nice to collect the stats and distances for Strava etc....but makes cycling much better.