I use Strava just about any time I get on a bike. Years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I needed this, but it really is cool how it can track everything I do and actually gives me some motivation to keep biking. I have a Garmin 235 watch and I just turn on Strava every time I start a ride, hike, long walk, or kayak. You can also just use your phone to start the GPS tracking.
For those that don’t know, Strava is an App and a website that can track GPS measurements, speed, distance and other data for those that are exercising. Below is my commute from the Angle Lake train station to my Boeing building in Kent. It has a lot of other data but I am mostly interested in distance and just seeing the map.
Runners, swimmers, hikers and cyclists are the biggest users but it can track a lot of other activities as well. I use it when I am kayaking.
There are segments that have been created by users for most of the busy sections of bike routes. It is fun to see how fast you are compared to your past times or compared to your Strava friends. Strava does have a social part to it and a lot of people will try to beat the fastest times to become the “King of the Mountain” or just beating their friends times. I am NOT a speed demon and I mostly like looking at how many times I have done the routes. If you have completed a segment more than anyone else in the last 90 days you get to be a “local legend” on that segment which is kind of fun. It also tracks how many miles you do on each bike. I have over 14,000 miles on my commuter bike. Maybe I need to replace it and upgrade :>)
Strava is free for the basic service but you can pay $60 per year to be a subscriber and get some advance features. I do this, because I really like tracking my weekly and yearly goals. I want to bike 3000 miles a year and this helps me keep motivated by looking where I am compared to my goals. Right now on June 21st, I am 135 miles ahead of where I need to be to hit 3000 miles. I need to be a little farther ahead because I typically stop commuting in October and only ride on really nice days in the winter. Strava subscriptions also give you heat maps. This can show you where you have biked for the year or for all time. Really interesting to see my favorite routes but also how I have been on so many streets in Seattle. I also like seeing the almost white routes showing my commuting patterns. My old house and old job locations still show up as white on my heat map.
I do have about 15 Strava friends but I don’t really look at my feed too much at what other people do. It is mostly just a way for me to track my personal mileage. It is kind of fun to see when my kids do crazy long rides so I can talk to them about it, but I am not good about even looking at my feed. If you haven’t tried it, I would recommend giving the free version a shot.