5 min read
My goal for the day was to keep it easy. I was supposed to keep this one in zone two because there was a big effort coming up a few days later. But then the head unit lit up—segment incoming. My heart rate was peaking before the segment even started. While this one segment wouldn’t have cooked my zone two ride, my inability to resist going for efforts on every highlighted segment throughout the ride made sure I was nowhere near zone two by the end.
Strava has some built-in features that can take away from overall performance or just enjoyment of some riders’ time on the bike. I’ve been there—falling into the FOMO rabbit hole of scrolling through other people’s epic rides on roads and trails all over the world. If that wasn’t enough, it’s all too easy to be overtaken by KOM/QOM fever and when those crowns don’t come then frustration and disappointment follow.
Maybe you don’t get hooked on an Instagram-esque doomscroll of your Strava feed. Instead, you might feel some negativity around getting on the bike after back-to-back rides with little to no kudos. All of this ties into the ways the app that blends the boundaries between tracking tool and social media can actually harm your performance.
I spoke to Erin Ayala, PhD, LP, CMPC, and owner and founder at Skadi Sport Psychology and as an endurance athlete herself, she has a unique perspective on athletes’ relationships to Strava. We came up with three of the biggest ways Strava can harm your performance, and a few tips if you feel like you’ve been sucked into the rabbit hole.
Comparison is the thief of joy
Trevor Raab, photographer and resident racer at Bicycling, wrote a story around his struggles with Strava use starting to feel, as he said, burdensome. “Postride data-checking turned into mindlessly looking at what everyone else was doing, comparing stats, and ultimately getting annoyed by ego-fluffing ride titles and novel-length explanations of ‘why I didn’t win the race or get that KOM.’ I found myself hooked on those little dopamine hits that came with the handful of validating kudos and silly little comments,” Raab previously wrote.
Ayala put this idea even more succinctly. “If Strava disappeared tomorrow, how would you train differently? If your training would drastically change, that’s worth paying attention to,” says Ayala.
“The best athletes I work with use Strava as an informal training log. They post, they interact, and they appreciate the community. But they can also delete the app for a month and keep showing up exactly the same way,” says Ayala. This is the biggest takeaway if you feel like you’re stuck in that cycle. You can either delete the app or set rides to private if you want to continue to use the app as a tracker during this ‘break.’
Blowing zone two
I know for someone like me keeping an intended zone two ride is hard enough without the bells of an upcoming segment. These segment pushes can be useful opportunities for an effort, but too much of a good thing can be a problem. If you have a training plan that calls for zone two or recovery rides, then follow that plan. One of the biggest zone two–related things I hear from other coaches from around the country is that elite-level cyclists typically don’t have as many issues with following the given plan. So if you’re trying to elevate your cycling fitness and you have a zone two or recovery ride, then keep that power and heart rate between the lines as planned.
“Most of the training that makes us faster happens when no one else sees it. For example, chasing segments on an active recovery day or a zone 2 ride can undermine the fitness we’re trying to build if it becomes a habit,” says Ayala.
Recently I gave tips on how to keep riders in zone two when that is the goal of the ride, but I missed one valuable tip for those riders using a head unit paired with Strava. Make sure to turn off segment notifications when you’re riding. If you feel self-conscious about your speed during a zone two ride, then consider keeping rides private for a while. Doing this will allow you to see how that impacts your ability to follow the training plan.
Downhill segments
Trevor Raab and I recently had a long conversation around downhill segments. On a mountain bike pushing the pace on a descent is part of the game. There are entire disciplines of the sport (enduro and downhill racing) where pushing that descent is the point of the ride. Bikes, courses, and entire events are designed around riding with gravity as fast as you can down a designated trail.
Years ago, I spent too much time riding skateboards down roads. There was a flow and freedom to cruising down the road and toeing the line of my limits of control. In hindsight, many times that line was stepped (and sometimes leapt) over into reckless riding. It’s not that far off on road bikes (other than the fact that we have brakes). I’ve seen things like blowing stop signs, crossing the double yellow on blind turns, and cutting a corner short in the name of KOM/QOM hunting.
“Logging miles for kudos or collecting KOM isn’t inherently a bad thing. None of us are immune to wanting or appreciating a little recognition. However, when the likes and kudos become your primary source of motivation, it may be a sign your athletic identity is built on a shaky foundation,” says Ayala.
It’s worth noting Strava has put strategies in place to safeguard riders, like the ability to flag dangerous downhill segments. The reality is the responsibility isn’t on Strava to police this challenge of our sport—ultimately that responsibility falls on us as riders.
The other side
To be clear, I don’t believe Strava should be vilified for this by any means. I use Strava to track and post all of my rides and it has been my primary tracking app for years. I believe it can be a useful tool for beginner and experienced cyclists alike, but be aware of how you’re using it.
Dan Chabanov, test editor with Bicycling, felt strongly that Strava is not inherently the problem, and I agree. But if you feel like any of the points above hit too close to home it’s worth considering a break from Strava (or even just tracking your rides privately)—just for a few weeks.
Remember if you’re someone who wants to track your rides, but gets too glued to the screen watching the numbers during a ride there are other options. If this sounds like you and you want to enjoy the ride and not just the data consider using a smartwatch to track your rides instead of a head unit.
Jason Griffin is Bicycling’s Senior Health and Fitness Editor, bringing more than a decade of fitness experience and years in the cycling industry to every story. A former personal trainer and bike shop manager, he’s lined up for crits, tackled enduros, but prefers getting lost on multi-day bikepacking adventures. Lately though, his toughest balancing act has been fitting trainer rides between family life and the next adventure.