I just have to say, strava is incredibly useful

[MattTuck]

Wife and I are tossing around the idea of visiting Italy and homing in on Orvieto, Siena or somewhere similar, probably with a side trip up to Florence, Milan and Lake Como.

I threw Orvieto, Italy into the "Activity Search" function, and found a ton of rides uploaded by locals. The information is so accessible now. And, if we end up going there, I can reach out to those riders and get tips about the area. From the data on the site, I know where the great climbs are, I know where the locals ride, I can reach out to them, I can even have a pretty good idea based on their ride stats of whether we ride at a similar pace. Just such a great discovery tool, even if you don't care for the leader boards.

I just find that aspect of it an amazing resource that wasn't possible even 10 years ago.

[Tickdoc]

what is this strava you speak of?

seriously, I must be the only guy in my group who is non-strava.

I have an account, just never used it.

[ripvanrando]

Thanks for that incredible tip.

I usually use ridewithgps but thinking about it, Strava makes more sense although I rarely use it other than a performance tracking and trending tool for a few specific interval or TT sections to gage me performance or lack thereof.

[livingminimal]

Strava is an amazing tool.

A lot of tools use strava though.

I was in the DMV area for a week and rode every day. I cant imagine not archiving those rides online so I can go back and remember how great (or not) they were. It's like a digital writing diary. That's important to me.

[fiamme red]

When I saw the title of the thread, I assumed that the OP broke his chain on a ride and Strava paid for the car service back home.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=208248

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

I just find that aspect of it an amazing resource that wasn't possible even 10 years ago.

agreed. and I've used it several times in the manner you describe. this past spring, the wife and I stayed at an airbnb run by a fellow who also runs a local bike shop and does cycling tours in the area. he had a handful of pre-planned routes to offer, but all were on paper and he couldn't forward them to me in advance. I wasn't bringing a computer, so I had to plan remotely, before we arrived. Strava to the rescue! ended up planning a couple routes almost exactly like some of his tried-and-true classics, that he's been tweaking for decades. just follow the Strava heat maps!

that said, my one gripe when doing that is that you never know if some of those routes are off-road. you could very well be unknowingly routing yourself onto singletrack or fire roads or something, when you're only bringing a road bike with you. you don't know it until you're out on the ride. and if it's a remote region, this is all the more likely as the heat maps are "less hot", plus gravel and dirt roads are more common in those areas.

also, one thing I like to do is use RideWithGPS in concert with the Strava routes. the Strava route planner doesn't have a street view option, but RWGPS does. you can't always do street view, but when you can, it's nice to verify the integrity of the road (good surface, not a 55 mph highway, etc).

[FlashUNC]

Their heat maps for most common ride routes are pretty killer for areas you're not familiar with.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by chiasticon

also, one thing I like to do is use RideWithGPS in concert with the Strava routes. the Strava route planner doesn't have a street view option, but RWGPS does. you can't always do street view, but when you can, it's nice to verify the integrity of the road (good surface, not a 55 mph highway, etc).

Yeah that's my go-to planner. I do a tcx on ridewithGPS, load it in my garmin, then look at it after in Strava. Works great. I don't do much ride planning on Strava specifically, but it is helpful if there are popular segments.

[pncguy]

I have Strava premium and, despite the fact that I don't race, nor am I really on a training plan, I love the analysis I get on Strava. I use RideWithGPS to plan my own routes, but I use Strava as my archive.

I also have a Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt, which automatically uploads to both when it sees wifi, so getting my data into the online tools is effortless.

[Davist]

off topic but Orvieto is NICE. had a great meal there years ago, and the way the Cathedral just occupies the whole town square, amazing, you can't really even get a picture of the whole facade..

[superbowlpats]

Strava Premium also. I also use the Fitness & Freshness analysis - similar to the CTL, ATL, TSB that Training Peaks has. Not exact but good enough for my 'racin ability

[sparky33]

The more I use Strava the more I keep my activities private. Is that weird?

Maybe it's that I don't want lurkers in my alone time. You can lurk on my group rides if you like.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

what is this strava you speak of?

seriously, I must be the only guy in my group who is non-strava.

I have an account, just never used it.

Not the only guy....

but the function MattT has described sounds really useful.

[Louis]

Matt, do they still have an office in Hanover?

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Louis

Matt, do they still have an office in Hanover?

Yes, the last time I heard, it is small compared to their SF offices. I wouldn't be surprised if it is closed at some point.