For a lot of us, cycling and running used to be fairly independent things. We’d train, enjoy the pedalling or running, and if we were serious maybe keep time.
But Strava is making our individual efforts very public.
Strava is essentially a social media extension. It provides a platform for runners and cyclist to compete online. With a Garmin or smartphone you can upload all your GPS information to Strava and instantly it compares your ride to everyone else who has ridden the same route.
It seems that nowadays, with society’s obsession with social networking, it is impossible to mention cycling or running without KOMs, QOMs (King or Queen of the Mountain) and PR (personal record) being mentioned.
This can be quite uplifting when you ride a ‘segment’ which has only been ridden by old grannies, but it can also be fairly demoralizing after feeling like you were really pushing to come home, obsessively rush to the computer and upload your data to find you placed 193 out of 197!
Every ride segment has a KOM and QOM for the person that has done it fastest. So it seems Strava can bring the best and worst out of riders.
The term ‘Stravasshole’ was coined, as you can imagine, in the US and I am yet to come across it in Australia – please let me know if you’ve met any or even better if you have been called one!
Here are some ways you are a Stravasshole:
• Driving your car along segments with your bike GPS turned on and uploading these super-fast speeds ‘accidently’ (This causes much anger on Strava!)
• Riding a Strava segment because you know there is a very strong tailwind to drive you along.
• Create your own segment which you ‘know’ you will KOM of – most likely your reign will be brief, as another Strava user will ‘spot’ the easy KOM ‘kill’!
• Stravaing in a pace line – Strava is most definitely not a team sport!
• Descending yelling “Strava” to get people out of your way. This is the original action which supposedly created the term – the reaction must be awful, I don’t know if you would get away with that here in Australia!
You never know, if you are riding segments in Texas sometime soon you may come across Lance Armstrong on Strava. He is obviously keen on continuing to compete and it could be the only place left for him to ‘win’.
We all know what sort of a Strava user he would be!
jack
Guest
It's sad to see people taking an app so seriously. I think most people just want to ride for fun. I mountain bike recreationally where there are 2 way single tracks and lots of kids on weekends. There are also nutcases who descend single tracks at terrifying speeds, not even slowing down for blind stops. Despite the fact that the trail policy here is ALWAYS to yield to climbers, they don't care and expect you to get our of their. I don't know if they are "Stravassholes", but they seem like the kind of idiotic personality that would be one.
Steven Steven
Guest
Great article. I'm a little surprised that Strava doesn't do anything to prevent these obviously bad segments. Seems like it could be an easy bit of code. The fella that ran a red and flattened over and killed a poor pedestrian while trying to get a KOM last year is an example. Why was there a purely downhill KOM segment in a crowded city like San Francisco? I've been to SF- lots of really steep hills and narrow streets packed with people (and those cable cars.) There really shouldn't be any KOMs there at all. Why encourage and reward stupidity? Heck, why are there purely downhill segments at all anywhere? Makes no sense. Seems like a bad bit of business for Strava, and as it grows is just going to get more people killed (and sadly, it won't always be the idiots trying to get a KOM.) People can say it is user beware, but I tend to think Strava isn't free from all the blame if they are going to take our money and then reward those who act the most irresponsible.
Josh Robinson
Guest
Nice piece Sam! I like to think I'm not a stravasshole but I'm definitely suffering from stravadiction. I used to go out on nice long rides, stop for a coffee en route and wind my way back, admiring the countryside and chatting to my buddies. Now it's heads down, legs blazing, with silence only punctuated by shouts of, 'there's a segment up here!' Still great fun. I do miss that chat though. Sometimes.
Rodders
Guest
Unfortunately when god handed out talents i was lumped with Air Guitar rather than mountain climbing so there was no strava strapped on to bear witness to my incredible times ascending up to Cavazzone, CASTELNUOVO, SAN GIMIGNANO, Sant'Anna, Perugia, Narni, Tivoli etc. Ergo i am stuck in forums, awaiting a digital dump that can elevate me out of this purgatory and into my rightful kingdom of the mountaindom
Ryback
Guest
A few years ago I went up the Col du Lautaret in a van not realising my GPS was still on. I just logged into Strava for the first time in ages (thanks for jogging my memory) and I am still KOM of one of the hors categorie climbs in the Alps. The van did the 22km climb at 33km/h with a power output of 724w and is still 20 minutes faster than the next best person! I hope no Stravassholes have killed themselves trying to beat that time - I'm very sorry if you have. I'll delete it now - thanks for the article - I now understand the lengths Stravassholes will go to to and my responsibilities as a user of Strava and the internets.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Good article Sam! I enjoyed reading it. As someone who has been running, a lot, since a young tacker I have found boasting about my efforts completely pointless really, since there is always going to be someone faster then you. But this phenomena of Strava, which i hadn't heard of until this morning is quite interesting. I suspect it is only a matter of time until the really fit and fast %1 blast us mortals out of the race and divy it up amongst themselves.
TimsaDog
Roar Rookie
Have to say I might be a bit of a Stravasshole myself. Gotten into a bit of a habit of making sure I am the back of the main group at the beginning of climbs, and slowly making my way to the front for the final few meters. Worse is when I sit on the wheel of one of my mates (normally this guy who rides an Argon) up Akuna or MacCarrs, until the last few meters. To be fair, I weigh half as much as him (and look much better lids off), but it riles him up a bit. anyway, all good fun
josh
Roar Rookie
I use strava for my runs. II have thoughts of being a stravasshole. i.e. picking easy legs and run them at high speed. e.g. where someone has made a 400m leg of a long run. Just do the 400m leg at 400m pace not 5km pace.
samwood
Roar Rookie
I use it too and find it very useful and good fun too even on commute to work. The Californian bloke who died was a bad one...supposedly he had lost the KOM that morning. There was also a guy using Strava who hit a pedestrian doing well above the driving speed limit... he got done for manslaughter.
Lee Rodgers
Expert
'Stravasshole,' perfect! I have to say though that it's made logging my rides a whole lot easier, though there are times when i'm on a hill, struggling, and I know the local riders will be chuckling later... Do not like the King of Descent segments though, just silly, and way too dangerous. Remember the guy last year who died trying to nail a descent, and his family tried to sue Strava!
Tim Renowden
Expert
It is pretty weird when you're on a ride, and suddenly a couple of guys will absolutely launch themselves off the front at some invisible marker. "Strava?" "Must be..."
Dylan Reynolds
Roar Rookie
Good article Sam! The whole Strava thing really has become a phenomenon in it's own right and it is amusing how much people now tap into it - myself included. Had an amusing chat with a couple of guys last week who told me that they regularly contact Strava if the there is an infeasible KOM on the rankings. I might do the same for the 758 times that were better then my own on the Bobbin Head hill on Sunday. Cheats the lot of them!
Al-Bo
Guest
Living in the nearest hills to the UK's national cycling centre means that Strava king of the mountain times are always way out of my range. I could sometimes consider myself an unofficial queen of the mountain, but I must say I don't covet that term...