Join the Strava tribe

Training for solo cyclists has become much more fun, thanks to this app, says Greg Miles.

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Many farmers and their families enjoy cycling or mountain biking, but training can be pretty boring without other friends and competitors. Several apps with amazing features can help to solve the problem. Popular names include Strava, Endomodo, Sports Tracker and MapMyRide. Even if you’re a beginner, any of these apps will be useful since they provide vast amounts of data and statistics that make your fitness training a fun exercise.

This week I’ll be discussing Strava. Most competitive cyclists have a tracking device mounted to their bicycles that can be used to record data – or you can download the Strava app which is available on most mobile platforms. If you don’t have a GPS on your bike, simply use one of the aforementioned apps on your smartphone.

Worldwide connections
The creators of Strava describe themselves as “an online community of athletes all over the world (a tribe) that allows users to experience social fitness, connecting and competing with each other all over the world via online or mobile apps, allowing the user to analyse their performance and share it with their friends online, providing virtual motivation and camaraderie”.

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This certainly adds another dimension to cycling if you have to train on your own. To join the Strava tribe, login at www.strava.com and register and download the app for free. Once you’ve done so, you can log in via Facebook and search for any of your online friends and add them in a similar way to how you add a friend on Facebook.

Compare, share, or stay private

You may also choose to follow a specific cyclist on Strava and monitor his or her training regime, statistics and performance. Alternatively, you can compare yourself with other cyclists. If you don’t wish to publish your data online,
a privacy setting will keep your information private. Only you will be able to access your training information and rides you have done. A particularly useful feature of Strava is that the program is equivalent to a fully automated diary – tracking and recording every ride and all the data of the ride. This can then be accessed and reviewed at your convenience.