584th... and Im happy with that!

[PaulSecteur]

I have done follow the dog over Cannock about 15 times now, and judging by the relationship of the amount of people that pass me (lots) to those that I pass (few) I thought I would be well down the bottom end of the times on strava.

Today was the first time I timed myself with strava on my phone. The "Full dog 2013" segment was the one I will be using. Getting the excuses out of the way first today was...

1-Hot, really hot.
2-A work day
3-A week since my last ride, I usually feel I do better when I ride and then have a rest day.

The segment has had 1600 people so far. I guess 25% will be fist time wobberlers, or having an easy day or whatever so I would be against 1200. I thought that I would be somewhere between 1000th and 800th, but I was 584 with a time of 51 mins.

Not great on the full scale of things, but such an improvement on 6 weeks ago. To be scraping into the top half was a surprise. Also, it was a full feet up lap and of course doing werewolf drops.

Tomorrow morning will be...

1-Cooler
2-Not a work day
3-Faster

 

[PaulSecteur]

Hmmm....

1 min 45 slower today

I thought that getting there for 9am would give me a clear run, but I was held up several times by slower riders, and also stopped for about a minute to let a large group of faster riders go by, they looked like they were on a mission!

30 seconds due to something angry sounding getting stuck in my helmet...

2 mins to check my front tyre after a "squirrell incident" The little fella jumped out onto the trail about 15 metre ahead and then played chicken as I got closer. As I got close I thought I would double bluff him and head to the left, then at the left minute swerve right. This squirrel must be related to Derren Brown as he read what I planned and also went to my right, forcing me to go even more right and catch a root that was covered by the undergrowth. Im tubeless and it seems the root caught the sidewall and pulled it away, breaking the seal. A loud boom and the squirrel was off. The trye resealed without a noticeable loss of air... but I was a bit gentle until I was sure it wasn't going to go down.

 

[Cubist]

Cool. Placing is immaterial in the grand scheme if things. Unless you want to race use it to check your own progress, but always ask yourself the question " Does comparing myself against previous times matter, as long as the grin is there at the time?" and "If I fret about Strava am I enjoying the ride and pitting myself against the trail or the clock?"

 

[PaulSecteur]

That is what I have just been thinking.

I want to become better/ faster/ more confident/ have better technique/ fitter that will all have an effect on my overall time.
While I have enjoyed the challenge of strava chasing, I didn't feel I enjoyed the rides so much.

I cant see myself strava-ing every ride, perhaps every month or so at most.

When I go the MTB it was purely so I could get more saddle time in doing a lap of the dog when I wouldn't be able to get out on the road bike. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much, I don't want to change that enjoyment for the sake of a position on a board.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There's always someone slimmer/better looking/smarter/more skilled/faster than you on a bike.
There's always someone fatter/uglier/stupider/less skilled/slower than you on a bike.

This is the wisdom I was taught by @ianrauk

The only person worth racing is you and other comparisons, and comparison with others, a la Strava, are odious.

My favourite measure is the width of my grin at the end of an off-road-ride.

 

[PaulSecteur]

There's always someone slimmer/better looking/smarter/more skilled/faster than you on a bike.
There's always someone fatter/uglier/stupider/less skilled/slower than you on a bike.

Not so sure about that.

 

[Crackle]

Sometimes you feel you've done a great ride and Strava tells you you haven't. Sometimes you feel you've done a terrible ride and Strava tells you you haven't.

Despite recording my rides, when looking back, I don't remember what Strava tells me, I remember the ride.

Strava's nice for a record of where you've been and what you've done. It's good for a bit of motivation when you see what others are doing in the same area, it's good for finding routes you've not thought of. It's good for comparing routes to see whether that one that feels harder is actually hillier.

Sometimes it's good for measuring your progress, occasionally it's fun to have a crack at a section to see if you can do it faster than before.

Mostly though, it's fun to ride. Use it but don't let it rule you.

I'm sure you know all that and yeah, it's good to know you're not last

 

[JohnClimber]

Not ridden it for 2 years but I'm 70th at 38.07

 

[Crackle]

Not ridden it for 2 years but I'm 70th at 38.07

I just read your feature in Spincycle. Your accident made my eyes water.

 

[JohnClimber]

I just read your feature in Spincycle. Your accident made my eyes water.

Which accident?
Is it in the Spincycle annual? I've not bought mine as yet?

 

[Crackle]

Which accident?
Is it in the Spincycle annual? I've not bought mine as yet?

http://www.spincyclemag.com/content/issue-6
How many accidents have you had?

 

[JohnClimber]

Page 154

I've had a few, I've plenty of scars on my legs to prove as much, I spent another 3 night in hospital this spring after a crash split my skin open wide on my left knee. Then I got blood poisoning from the mud and crud that got flicked up into it. 4 days on an IV drip is no fun at all.

I'm keeping my wheels on the ground and riding more endurance rides now, here's my latest on my new bike http://www.thewoollybacks.co.uk/entry.php?35-Why

 

[cyberknight]

Cool. Placing is immaterial in the grand scheme if things. Unless you want to race use it to check your own progress, but always ask yourself the question " Does comparing myself against previous times matter, as long as the grin is there at the time?" and "If I fret about Strava am I enjoying the ride and pitting myself against the trail or the clock?"

I agree,many segment KOM are not likely to have been set after lumping steel all day sweating your rollocks off then riding home on a bike loaded with panniers,that's my excuse