[Leviathan]

So earlier this afternoon I though I would go for a well needed spring clean spin. The temperatures were high enough to dump off some of the layers and the roads were clear for the bank holiday weekend, or at least clear enough to give me a chance of dodging the potholes. I had been eyeing up a juicy segment on Strava along the top of Wythenshawe Park that only has a KOM at 30kph (foolish hobbits, you shall be mine!) Having just lunched I was well hydrated and only going 20k so I left the water bottle behind and decided to dust off the long sleeved skinsuit to be extra aero for this one off set of conditions. I stuffed my keys and a spare tube in a storage bottle I have; but where to put my phone? I folded up the hem of my baselayer and tucked it securely into my suit, face down nicely irradiating my appendix. So I set off and did indeed cruise along at a sweet 34, hitting all the lights on green. Once I was back I simply stopped my phone app (htc one) 100% confident I had bagged another KOM for my growing collection. After a shower and session packing away my winter kit (woohoo) I looked at the data, but horror, no segment! The app had skipped the start with a 2km straight line, and other straight lines just jagging around. Half the segments I went through were not logged, especially the new ones I had set off to try for. It sees like my belly absorbed gps signal, but I can’t see how putting my phone in the front as opposed to the back would make such a difference?

I can always try again tomorrow, but should really go out into the hills and get some proper climbing done. So in other words: how do I get a better signal. I’ve had issues in the past even when the phone is in the back pocket or a rucksack, but on some days the trace is perfect. Is it just bad luck if there are just less satellites in view? Perplexed.

Happy Easter everyone by the way, Christians and chocolate fans.
To paraphrase Dara O’Brien; I’m and Atheist, but I’m a CofE Atheist. Remember Jesus died so we can eat chocolate eggs brought to use by a rabbit (?!)

Topic

[Chasseur Patate]

Skin suits for strava
Skin suits for strava segments. =)) =))

[Simon E]

It’s a pity you are so
It’s a pity you are so defensive. I’m only voicing an opinion (and trying to provide reasons for my PoV). No-one said we all had to agree and simply toss in vacuous smileys.

Segments are obviously fun targets. I find Strava very useful but I don’t want to post my ride data on there. That doesn’t make me a hater.

A time trial is only an example of a timed ride. You can compare to others on an equalf footing, not against someone who may be in a fast group, using a hefty tailwind or when the lights tip the balance in your favour.

My point remains: isn’t cherry-picking a stretch of road where most people can’t / won’t / don’t hit it at speed just kidding yourself? Wouldn’t a less ambiguous segment be a more worthwhile target?

What is the purpose of timing your ride?

And why make it public?

[Leviathan]

Simon, your dissembling is
Simon, your dissembling is getting boring. You have already said I should do “a real TT.” Something motivated you to say this. You again assume I am not comparing my own performances. “Beating your previous best time on a predictable loop, course or segment (yes, I did say segment), now that’s a goal” – you do know that this is exactly what Strava does, don’t you?

These long segments require coursing, constant effort over distance and as Nixster said, the segments are there. No TT’s start outside my house or office.

And finally, you are not the arbiter of what is worth talking about. You have chosen to reply, so must deem this worthy of your attention. “That’s worth talking about.” ergo, you think Strava is not. I doubt you will see the point.

[Simon E]

bikeboy76 wrote:Do I detect

bikeboy76 wrote:

Do I detect the whiff of club snobbery?

No. To label me as a snob would suggest that you don’t want to consider any other PoV; that you have to dismiss my opinion instead of addressing it. And how on earth is club membership relevant? Making some fair assumptions there. 😕

I’m not sniping for the sake of it, I just fail to grasp why are you going to these lengths for a segment through sets of traffic lights. All it seems to show is that, in light holiday traffic, you can time it so that each set is on green as you approach.

Beating your previous best time on a predictable loop, course or segment (yes, I did say segment), now that’s a goal. Start the clock, PLF, stop the clock. If the GPS doesn’t record or if Strava says 500 other people have ridden it faster is no big deal, your time today is the one that matters.

That’s worth talking about.

[Kapelmuur]

My age and (lack of) ability
My age and (lack of) ability mean that I’ll never threaten a KoM, so I take the possibly perverse view of looking for segments headed by pro cyclists – Simon Yates on the Alderley Edge bypass, for example. Their speed compared to mine is a source of wonder.

I’m currently on holiday in Flanders where most segments are headed by Niki Terpstra, so I’m very content.

[Nixster]

GPS works best when there’s
GPS works best when there’s line of sight to the satellite, hence interference from trees, tall buildings, bellies full of chocolate etc. Best in your back pocket if you don’t want to mount your phone on your bars/stem (or get a Garmin or similar).
Personally I’m on Strava and like a KOM as much as the next person but I won’t go out of my way to find them. But hey, each to their own.
I quite like the idea of doing a TT but then Strava is just there, whenever…

[Leviathan]

Simon E wrote:Why don’t you

Simon E wrote:

Why don’t you just go and do a real TT?

Then we’d have something to talk about.

If I were doing a ‘real’ TT, would it invalidate the thread, as the subject of the post was a lost recording? Some other people gave alternate suggestions like Garmins (which happen to be on offer at Aldi, interesting.) Instead you imply Strava segments aren’t ‘real’. Do I detect the whiff of club snobbery? There is nothing stopping me doing a ‘real’ TT and this segment; its not a sprint either. I have done j2/9 before and ride those roads in cheshire regularly, but I don’t just pop out to do that one quiet afternoon.
Reading between the lines then projecting your own prejudices again, no change there Simon.

[Simon E]

Why don’t you just go and do
Why don’t you just go and do a real TT?

Then we’d have something to talk about.

[bashthebox]

Yeah, I appreciate the
Yeah, I appreciate the motivation in feeling like a KOM, but I’m not sure of the value of your low hanging fruit. People make segments all over the place, and some, like this one, are so obscure that only a few people have done them. Isn’t the purpose of a Strava leader-board to measure yourself against as many people as possible? I know I’d feel better getting in the top 10 of a 1000 person segment than being KOM of something only 100 people have done.
Sorry, this totally sounds like I’m trying to piss on your chips; I’m not deliberately doing that – just questioning the psychology of wanting any old KOM rather than aiming higher. Quality, not quantity?

[Leviathan]

Why would I write all that
Why would I write all that for a wind-up? Here is the segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/1798874
If you make a convoluted segment, people won’t do it passing, low hanging fruit and all that. And no I don’t need a skinsuit to maintain +30kph, but its in the the kit rota. Sweet Erdgas one looks like it has tattoos on it. Ebay is my best friend. Unless I am not allowed to wear it because I am not a lumping German track sprinter?
Use the segment explore tool, find something out of your way and get the extra mileage in getting to the segment, then bag it up. Motivation tools.

[bashthebox]

Nah, Bikeboy’s an eager puppy
Nah, Bikeboy’s an eager puppy of a bike rider. Far too sweet to wind us up!

[Al__S]

I smell wind-up
I smell wind-up

[bashthebox]

I’m fairly sure phones and
I’m fairly sure phones and proper gps units vary quite a lot in their segment times. Went out with a mate the other week and after smashing the hell out of each other all ride, we did one last little uphill sprint to see who was world champion. I beat him by a clear 5 seconds but his phone recorded his segment as being around 4 seconds faster than mine. So that’s an error of almost 10 seconds on a 45 second segment. I guess that’s about the max you’ll see between devices, and over a proper length segment 10 seconds isn’t too much – but for most heavily populated segments longer than 3 minutes that’s the difference between KOM and not being in the top 20.

As a slight aside – do you not feel slightly daft getting a skinsuit out to bag a very obscure KOM? Do you need a skinsuit to hold 34kph on the flat?

[Poptart242]

bikeboy76 wrote: And would a

bikeboy76 wrote:

And would a garmin gps computer be very accurate on the speedo, as good as a conventional magnet driven wireless comp? [yes you know who you are.]

After having my Garmin 500 for a few months I picked up a speed/cadence sensor so now it’s magnet and GPS derived speeds and the accuracy seems to be round about the same.

And you put your bike computer on eBay B-)

[Leodis]

Could have been worse, you
Could have been worse, you could have smashed it up hill like a demon then when finishing the segment you remember to start your Garmin again.

[Author]

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