Strava Menace

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
route 56
Posts: 20
Joined: 26 Jun 2010, 5:25pm

Strava Menace

Post by route 56 »

I think that Strava is a great way to set personal challenges, however when used on shared cycle paths it only encourages conflict between walkers and cyclists.
There is a 5.2 Km route locally which has been ridden over 6800 times by 1400 riders with the number one on the leader board clocking a time of 53Km/Hr.
The local paper regularly has complaints on its letter page about "Mad cyclists".
Is it not time that the CTC or Sustrans took Strava to task to ask them to remove all shared routes from their site?
jochta
Posts: 406
Joined: 13 Mar 2009, 11:54am

Re: Strava Menace

Post by jochta »

route 56 wrote:I think that Strava is a great way to set personal challenges, however when used on shared cycle paths it only encourages conflict between walkers and cyclists.
There is a 5.2 Km route locally which has been ridden over 6800 times by 1400 riders with the number one on the leader board clocking a time of 53Km/Hr.
The local paper regularly has complaints on its letter page about "Mad cyclists".
Is it not time that the CTC or Sustrans took Strava to task to ask them to remove all shared routes from their site?


Flag the segment as hazardous and then it won't appear on people's leaderboards anymore. You can also report them en masse by listing the segments in a message to the support, they will delete them. Strava rely on the community setting sensible segments and flagging the dangerous ones, they cannot always know if they are on footpaths/shared paths. Unfortunately Strava is littered with duplicate/stupid/dangerous/pointless segments created by muppets.
Mark1978
Posts: 4912
Joined: 17 Jul 2012, 8:47am
Location: Chester-le-Street, County Durham

Re: Strava Menace

Post by Mark1978 »

route 56 wrote:Is it not time that the CTC or Sustrans took Strava to task to ask them to remove all shared routes from their site?


They have done exactly that : http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/sustra ... use/015150
User avatar
gentlegreen
Posts: 1373
Joined: 23 Aug 2010, 1:58pm
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Re: Strava Menace

Post by gentlegreen »

I've started setting "trap" segments at particularly dangerous spots on routes I use - but the flagging as dangerous works both ways - the miscreants are probably getting mine hidden - so I've taken to settling for giving them meaningful names in the vain hope of pricking someone's conscience.

Nothing stopping you creating a segment and scooping off the data before it gets hidden.

http://www.strava.com/segments/5270432

I confess I often do 15MPH around this bend, but there were recorded speeds of 34MPH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPe_HQ9OdV4

I've given my "traps" various names :-

Darwin's bend
15MPH MAX - SHARED PATH !!!!!
Danger ! Slow down - it's not a race, it's a shared path.
Mark1978
Posts: 4912
Joined: 17 Jul 2012, 8:47am
Location: Chester-le-Street, County Durham

Re: Strava Menace

Post by Mark1978 »

There are plenty who would take it as a challenge to go as fast as possible on that part.

It does work both ways, I've had a segment removed for being hazardous along this road http://goo.gl/maps/p5Yde a perfectly ordinary road.
CyclingSi
Posts: 17
Joined: 16 Sep 2013, 8:28am
Location: Plymouth, Devon
Contact:

Re: Strava Menace

Post by CyclingSi »

We have quite a few on shared use and family trails around here, I am slowly getting them removed by reporting them, if I can stop one near miss or accident then it is worth it, I doubt it will stop some of the lunatics but it is a start.
User avatar
jezer
Posts: 1581
Joined: 29 Sep 2007, 5:16pm
Location: North Wiltshire

Re: Strava Menace

Post by jezer »

I really don't get this at all. We have riders on our club runs suddenly shooting off the front, only to be caught a mile or so later gasping for breath whilst gazing at their Garmins. What's that all about :shock: Perhaps it's only the modern equivalent of sprinting for village signs that we used to do years ago :lol:
Power to the pedals
User avatar
gaz
Posts: 14649
Joined: 9 Mar 2007, 12:09pm
Location: Kent

Re: Strava Menace

Post by gaz »

Mark1978 wrote:
route 56 wrote:Is it not time that the CTC or Sustrans took Strava to task to ask them to remove all shared routes from their site?


They have done exactly that : http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/sustra ... use/015150

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/news/racers- ... free-paths

Whilst I feel that Strava should pull the plug on all stats for shared use routes it still comes down to the need for individuals and groups to act responsibly whether they are on a shared path, road or anywhere else for that matter.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Strava Menace

Post by [XAP]Bob »

but they can only do that when they are told.

They don't create the segments, they aren't verifying them. but for the cost...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Ray
Posts: 1088
Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 11:10am
Location: West Yorkshire

Re: Strava Menace

Post by Ray »

All routes are shared with someone, and should be used appropriately. One of the greatest irritations, and dangers, to cyclists comes from motorists who don't believe we are entitled to share the highway. Cyclists shouldn't behave in a similar manner.

Ray
Ray
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertrand Russell
ANTONISH
Posts: 2967
Joined: 26 Mar 2009, 9:49am

Re: Strava Menace

Post by ANTONISH »

Strava seems to be an ongoing unregulated race. It's not reasonable to expect to do the sort of speeds described on a cycle path - let alone a shared use path.
I recently had a minor accident in Belgium. I was travelling along a narrow road which had had the top surface removed prior to repair. I could only have been travelling at about 15/16kph. A young lad on a mountain bike came out of an alleyway directly in front of me. In the ensuing collision I went over the top of the bars and the lad ended up under both bikes. Fortunately apart from a few grazes there was no damage to riders or machines. If I had been travelling at the much higher speed that Strava practitioners travel at I'm sure this would have been very serious.
I would suggest that proportionately there are at least as many selfish and reckless cyclists as there are car drivers.
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Strava Menace

Post by Brucey »

I think that before strava-ing it might be as well to consider if (say) the RTTC would sanction a TT event on that road at that time of day or not. If the answer might be 'no' then it could well be that 'racing speeds' are not appropriate.

Back when bicycles were still quite a new thing, I believe riders could be prosecuted for 'furious riding'. I wonder if that one is still on the statute books...?

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
route 56
Posts: 20
Joined: 26 Jun 2010, 5:25pm

Re: Strava Menace

Post by route 56 »

Thanks for the feedback on this topic.
After searching the Strava site with the intention flagging up the local shared paths I came across the following statement "The person flagging the segment needs to have recorded an effort on it prior to designating as hazardous".
I think this is a perfectly reasonable condition as it prevents people wiping out others efforts without checking the route, however shouldn't the local Sustrans rep be given the power to flag all shared routes?
My next task is to find one of our local riders who has a Garmin and ask them to help eliminate this problem (I only have a £5 Aldi speedo")
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Strava Menace

Post by [XAP]Bob »

A smartphone will do the recording for you.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
route 56
Posts: 20
Joined: 26 Jun 2010, 5:25pm

Re: Strava Menace

Post by route 56 »

My phone can only make calls and send texts (perhaps it is time I joined the 21st century!)
Post Reply