Cause of bogus Strava recording?

[Two-Wheels]

Apologies if in the wrong spot. If better suited to another section of the board then please move there.

Bit of a different angle here on the old 'Strava cheat' situation. Say it was a young person who's done 40mph up a 20% climb then you'd say ok fair enough, they've had Strava on in the car for a laugh. This isn't that though.

Now not wanting to appear sexist or ageist in todays snowflake society, the person who's done this is a woman who going off her uploaded images is probably around her 40s at her youngest and could be anything up to about 60. The point I make is while nothing is impossible, she's not what you would typically mark as someone who would actively go out and cheat.
There's a segment i like where i'm in 2nd place overall (makes me sound quicker than I actually am) so when I saw I'd dropped to 3rd I took a look at the new entry and recognised the name as someone I had previously flagged for the same thing, funnily enough on the same few segments.


Her average for the 21 mile 2 hour ride was 10mi/h. She's down as doing -9.1% descents at 4.6mi/h. I see a -11.0% descent at 5.8mi/h later on in the ride. I know it's being judgemental (aren't we all in some way) but from her photos and the people she appears to cycle with, this is about what i would expect.

But then out of the blue for a section of her overall ride she transforms.
31.4mi/h on a 1.8% climb
25.9mi/h on a cat 4 20.8% climb.
And similar other entries around this section of her ride.
For that 20.8% climb, she hit the KOM by 3 seconds, 7 seconds ahead of what is now 3rd spot. These guys get regular KOMs around the local area, young 20 something guys who smash out long fast rides like it's nothing. She's beaten them all. She's smashed the QOM by 21 seconds. When you have a look who that QOM is, she's down as 'professional athlete' with 23 pages of QOMs.


According to the upload she used the Strava app for iPhone.

So what gives with this short crazy burst in the middle of her 21 miles?
Just curiosity more than anything really as to why these random insane times from someone who wouldn't strike you as someone who would actively cheat.

 

[Craig the cyclist]

No offence like, but who really gives the tiniest of shitz? Maybe it's just when her e-bike steps in to help?

I am looking forward to the reaction from the right-on brigade you are going to get for doubting a woman could do it though

I am almost hoping the lady in question turns out to be trans-gender

 

[FishFright]

Apologies if in the wrong spot. If better suited to another section of the board then please move there.

Bit of a different angle here on the old 'Strava cheat' situation. Say it was a young person who's done 40mph up a 20% climb then you'd say ok fair enough, they've had Strava on in the car for a laugh. This isn't that though.

Now not wanting to appear sexist or ageist in todays snowflake society, the person who's done this is a woman who going off her uploaded images is probably around her 40s at her youngest and could be anything up to about 60. The point I make is while nothing is impossible, she's not what you would typically mark as someone who would actively go out and cheat.
There's a segment i like where i'm in 2nd place overall (makes me sound quicker than I actually am) so when I saw I'd dropped to 3rd I took a look at the new entry and recognised the name as someone I had previously flagged for the same thing, funnily enough on the same few segments.


Her average for the 21 mile 2 hour ride was 10mi/h. She's down as doing -9.1% descents at 4.6mi/h. I see a -11.0% descent at 5.8mi/h later on in the ride. I know it's being judgemental (aren't we all in some way) but from her photos and the people she appears to cycle with, this is about what i would expect.

But then out of the blue for a section of her overall ride she transforms.
31.4mi/h on a 1.8% climb
25.9mi/h on a cat 4 20.8% climb.
And similar other entries around this section of her ride.
For that 20.8% climb, she hit the KOM by 3 seconds, 7 seconds ahead of what is now 3rd spot. These guys get regular KOMs around the local area, young 20 something guys who smash out long fast rides like it's nothing. She's beaten them all. She's smashed the QOM by 21 seconds. When you have a look who that QOM is, she's down as 'professional athlete' with 23 pages of QOMs.


According to the upload she used the Strava app for iPhone.

So what gives with this short crazy burst in the middle of her 21 miles?
Just curiosity more than anything really as to why these random insane times from someone who wouldn't strike you as someone who would actively cheat.

She's obviously an alien with access to technology way beyond our primitive strava

Or

It's a GPS glitch or similar .

 

[Buck]

I've had it before where GPS (especially on the Strava phone app) has a complete hissy fit and reports strange shenanigans.

 

[Buck]

This is a slightly different example from a Canadian friend and his Strava issue. He road the distance but his start and finish are within 100m of each other and not the route he took!

 

[Craig the cyclist]

And I swam nearly 2km using my Garmin, it showed me as walking just over 300m, but also going up over 200 flights of stairs!

 

[PaulSB]

Do people really trawl through other riders Strava data and pick it apart like this? Geez life's too short.

I'm not ageist or sexist but........which isn't why you went through it all in detail.

 

[Moon bunny]

I saw some wild orchids on the way home yesterday, I would have stopped to admire them, but it would have ruined my strava record.

 

[Milkfloat]

Just report it and move on, you might find the QOM has done so already.

 

[vickster]

If it makes your bits shrink so much, just report it…or find another hobby beyond Strava stalking?

 

[HarryTheDog]

As @FishFright mentioned, could be a GPS glitch on my old Commute route there were a couple of sections where people recorded silly speeds of 40-60mph, none cheated it was a just a GPS glitch. I have known some right rows on Strava where people have refused to withdraw their rides even though the speeds shown were ridiculous but as they did not cheat they would not delete them.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I think talk of strava stalking or picking apart rides is off the mark. I can understand why the OP is miffed at moving down the ranks, being competitive is where it's coming from. As others have said, glitches, e bike, whatever, just report and let strava do its bit.
(From someone who would not have a chance of getting a KOM, and has stopped using strava now).

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Reminds me of the time I fitted a cordless computer to my son's bike when he was nine. We'd go out together and on return compare readings. On one occasion his max speed read something like 80 mph, he was convinced he had done that speed at some point, after all the computer wouldn't lie. I said it must have been on the downhill off a railway bridge, which he accepted. (Mine read max 15 mph, but I didn't tell him that).

 

[Sharky]

Probably a lost GPS signal and or an auto pause issue when riding very slowly?
Strava attempts to calculate the "lost signal " section using the current and last valid points?

 

[Two-Wheels]

No offence like, but who really gives the tiniest of shitz?

It only ever seems to be an internet thing. Have never come across this 'IRL' where just because you comment on something it must be the most important thing in your life.
When having such discussion with people face-to-face or IRL, whichever term you prefer, they take it for what it is - just a comment, a question, a conversation.
Yet ask the same online and it becomes your only purpose in life.

Weird.

To answer your question - i "give the tiniest of shitz" because i'm just simply curious as to how it would randomly record so clearly wrong with the time. Not just a bit out to make you think hmmm but clearly wildly different to what it would've been.

This is a slightly different example from a Canadian friend and his Strava issue. He road the distance but his start and finish are within 100m of each other and not the route he took!

Yep, I think we've all had the spaghetti lines. I just took them for not being super accurate lines but that the times recorded would've been accurate to what you actually did?

Do people really trawl through other riders Strava data and pick it apart like this? Geez life's too short.

Are you a barrister or something? Some other profession where they put a twist on what people say?

"trawl"? Hardly. Here's what happened...

I opened Strava, was just having a scroll about the right I'd done and had a look at the 3 segments i'd starred up on the ride.
I get to one of them (this one) and when just having a look at who's done what today while the adverts are on TV, I see this standout time.
I click it, see the ride and note a section that was weird as hell considering the rider. It made me curious. I came here and asked. Done.

You can call that trawling if it makes you feel better though.

I'm not ageist or sexist but........which isn't why you went through it all in detail.

Well I could've come here and said I saw someones entry that didn't look quite right, any idea why?

But I don't think folk would've been able to help much, do you?

As @FishFright mentioned, could be a GPS glitch on my old Commute route there were a couple of sections where people recorded silly speeds of 40-60mph, none cheated it was a just a GPS glitch. I have known some right rows on Strava where people have refused to withdraw their rides even though the speeds shown were ridiculous but as they did not cheat they would not delete them.

Thanks for a genuine answer to the question.

No rowing here, I was merely curious as to the clearly incorrect entry & didn't know why it would do that with someone who I would bet didn't cheat, not intentionally.

I think talk of strava stalking or picking apart rides is off the mark. I can understand why the OP is miffed at moving down the ranks, being competitive is where it's coming from. As others have said, glitches, e bike, whatever, just report and let strava do its bit.
(From someone who would not have a chance of getting a KOM, and has stopped using strava now).

Yes and no.
You're right that there's no stalking going on. I don't expect anyone to change their opinions though - this is the internet after all. Everyone is always right and the next man is always wrong. Such is life.

However I don't get miffed at dropping down any rankings - i'm not good enough for that

I compete against myself. I'll look at random segments and honestly i'm nowhere near top. These guys are way too good for me.
However there's this one segment that I don't know, it's a slight climb as in very slight. I should see what it's marked as. It's only a short burst and my time is about 45sec to give you an idea. I'm 2nd. This segment immediately is followed by a long descent where you can get up some real nice speed and go hell for leather. Looking at the times on there, folk seem to generally not burn themselves out on the short blast and save it for an all out go on the descent.
Which is the only reason i'm 2nd.

If i drop places I drop places. I'm not bothered about that. The only time I get really bothered is when I go all out to beat a previous time of mine and miss it.

And I ride a hybrid for Christs sake. I'm not going to be able to challenge these guys.

Probably a lost GPS signal and or an auto pause issue when riding very slowly?
Strava attempts to calculate the "lost signal " section using the current and last valid points?

Aha. Never thought of that.
Which is why I asked. Because I'm sure in amongst the nuttyness there'd be people who had half a clue