have you ever reported a Strava segment?

[unterhausen]

I rode a 600km brevet over the weekend, and I started late from the overnight. I had trouble keeping up with my caloric needs in the morning, so I got back to the finish near the time cutoff. When I noticed I only had 8 minutes left, I started sprinting, setting a number of personal records on Strava.

One of the segments on that stretch of roads has a stop sign halfway at a not-quite-90 degree intersection. People have done the segment in half as much time as me, which means they ride through that intersection at high speed, probably 30+ mph.

I have no idea when they are doing this, sometimes there is zero traffic there. But it just seems like a segment that should go away. Should I report it?

The segment is called "burn the turn" in Frederick Md. And yes, the turn you are burning is the one with the stop sign in it.

[mktng]

did it bug you that they beat your time? is that why you want to flag the segment?

or.

are you trying to promote safer riding.
because flagging the segment wont change that.

[fiamme red]

I remember once at the end of a 600 km brevet, I thought I was going 20 mph. But I looked down at my computer and it was only 13 mph. ;)

[chiasticon]

go ahead and flag it. but it'll prolly get re-created and like said above, people will still burn the turn regardless.

rode in Frederick a couple times. awesome climbing out there. it's where I cursed Strava the most though, as I got caught on the ridge Northwest of town, attempting to descend segments I had routed to. they were dirt/gravel mixtures and I was on a road bike with 25mm tires, and fenders. not fun. I wish Strava segments indicated road conditions.

[echappist]

i report dangerous downhill segments. dangerous in the view of a competent cat-3 racer with a good engine but not the best of handling skills

one other thing to check is whether those records were set in an organized race

go ahead and flag it. but it'll prolly get re-created and like said above, people will still burn the turn regardless.

rode in Frederick a couple times. awesome climbing out there. it's where I cursed Strava the most though, as I got caught on the ridge Northwest of town, attempting to descend segments I had routed to. they were dirt/gravel mixtures and I was on a road bike with 25mm tires, and fenders. not fun. I wish Strava segments indicated road conditions.

saw your post after I posted mine. those descents are exactly the ones I had in mind. you look at it, and say to yourself, 1.5 miles at 10%, not too bad, but once you ride in, holy s*** it's scary

[shortwaveradio]

I didn't report it myself, but I do know that a segment much like what you described (blowing through a Stop sign, in this scenario on a downhill) did disappear and despite the many riders that were logged as having completed it, it never did come back.

I agree with others that it wont fix unsafe riding habits, but it might curtail someone from trying to do something they shouldn't. Especially now with Strava Live Segments on many computers.

[unterhausen]

did it bug you that they beat your time? is that why you want to flag the segment?

or.

are you trying to promote safer riding.
because flagging the segment wont change that.

I only use strava because my rides get automatically uploaded to Trainerroad. I do this because I want to track training stress. No way I'm getting any KOM's at my pathetic FTP. I'm more likely to get DFL, but Strava doesn't point that out for some reason.

Safety and advocacy are why flagging this segment occurred to me. Sure, people might blow through that stop sign anyway, but I really doubt they will be doing it quite so fast. The segment ends at the top of an overpass, so to get an average of 26mph, people are most likely in a dead sprint through the intersection. And my guess is it would be with witnesses. I'll have to check to see if it was during a race, I suppose given the location that it's possible. on edit: top 10 are all on different days, I think that means there was no race.

I remember once at the end of a 600 km brevet, I thought I was going 20 mph. But I looked down at my computer and it was only 13 mph. ;)
I'm not going to say this has never happened to me, because Sunday there were a couple of times I thought I was moving okay, looked down to find I was going 11mph. But then I started force-feeding myself oreos and I was moving okay by the end of the ride. OTOH, a bike with 32mm tires and a couple of heavy bags "sprinting" is a relative term, and accelerating to a decent speed can take a while.

[Lewis Moon]

I've horsed a couple of segments only to see that the guy ahead of me did it at 52 mph...they forgot to turn their Garmin off when they put the bike on the car. Happens all the time.
I also make it a point to put "wind aided" in my ride title if I snag a KOM due to wind. I figure no one is out there with a wind gauge like at track meets, so wind is fair game, but I like to note it.

Added:
Jeebus, I was just looking for a pithy photo to attach and I saw a reference to someone throwing their Garmin the last 30 feet or so to snag a KOM. Sheesh.

http://cdn2.cyclist.co.uk/sites/cyclist/files/styles/article_main_wide_image/public/2017/11/10_crazy_things_strava_users_do_1.jpg?itok=HT_8iU0 R

[unterhausen]

when I looked harder at the leaderboard, everyone but the first place guy on this segment averaged 23mph, 3mph less than the leader. So maybe the first guy was on an ebike

Throwing the Garmin is genius.

[ChainNoise]

I've flagged once for someone blatantly forgetting to stop their Garmin while they were driving home at 55mph on a 3% ascent.

[Seamus]

I've seen segments that used to be a straight-stretch, that the DOT will have since added a stop-sign.

I should probably advocate locally for such sensible traffic-calming measures on any and all KOM-segments that I'm the current holder of.

[unterhausen]

Don't the segments disappear though?

[makoti]

I've flagged segments, never riders. We have a trail, the W&OD, that the entire thing is flagged almost. And should be. It's a crowded trail used by all sorts of users. Don't need some boy-racer plowing people over to snag a segment on that thing.

[woodworker]

Reminded me of this article where Strava was sued (several suits have been filed, I believe) because riders were killed or injured in the Bay Area for attempting to set downhill Strava records. The particular case identified in the article was tossed, I believe. I think that there's a discussion of attempting to take down the segments but that slightly different ones were set up shortly thereafter. Crazy stuff.

People can misuse any tool.

Here's the link: https://www.outsideonline.com/1797606/strava-wins-lawsuit

[MattTuck]

just rename it to something equally pithy.

burn the turn, then journey in a gurney.

[godfrey1112000]

What is strava

[unterhausen]

I've flagged segments, never riders. We have a trail, the W&OD, that the entire thing is flagged almost. And should be. It's a crowded trail used by all sorts of users. Don't need some boy-racer plowing people over to snag a segment on that thing.Back in early June, I rode many miles on the W&OD and the Capital Trail, and there were an impressive number of fast commuters on there that are just jerks. Including one guy riding an upright commuter and wearing a suit. Guy has to be a Stravahole after work.

[Waldo]

Between Orinda and Lafayette in the Bay Area, there is the "million dollar bike path" segment that parallels the freeway. KOM speed on that segment is upwards of 75mph. I've reported it. Not to Strava, to California Highway Patrol.

[unterhausen]

looks like Strava just hides it from the squeamish like me and there is a "hazardous segment" setting for people that want to maintain business as usual

[Ozz]

What is strava

It's an app that lets you race people, without them knowing you are racing them. :cool:

Seriously though, it tracks your ride and uploads it to your stats so you can compare yourself to other riders....best use I found is for motivating me off the couch when I see my friends are out doing their rides.

[cachagua]

What is strava

Thank you, me too. Or I should say, me neither. But there's an interesting comparison here:

Q. What's the difference between winning the Tour doped to the gills, and setting a Strava record by running stop signs?

A. You get paid to win the Tour.

[fiamme red]

Classic post about Strava:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1271352&postcount=19

Here in AZ there was a rumor that someone was riding their moped and setting new STRAVA KOM's..........talk about patheticI hear what you're saying, but if I had the time (and a moped), I'd do this in a heartbeat.

Not too long ago, while on a morning ride, I met a gal commuting on her bike. I was just finished a particularly hard work-out and I was knackered. We sorta took turns leading through part of west LA, then she veered one way and I another. But the routes converged a few minutes later.

And then, while waiting for the light (quite long), she started going on about how I needed to "not take short-cuts while training," that - she said this delicately, understanding that I must be poor because I was riding a steel bike - when I could afford it, I should move up to carbon, and that I should lay in a smart phone and hook up to Strava to track my progress, hone my workouts, and maybe even set some KOMs if I could.

I know that the vast majority of people aren't that gal, and use Strava as a great tool to encourage, improve, and enjoy their riding. But I'd seriously love to set up an account as 18-year-old "Brandi Punani" and moped every goddamn segment in West LA just to make that gal cry.

Not that I'm bitter, mind you.:D

[bigbill]

A few years ago I got the "someone stole your KOM" email. It was a 3.5 mile segment and I had the KOM at 28.8 mph. The guy who beat me averaged 80.5 mph. I flagged it and it was gone within the hour.

FWIW, it was a state hwy in Texas with a nice shoulder and a 75 mph speed limit.