Is Strava putting other MTB Riders and the general public at risk?

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mmatrix

Likes Dirt
Is Strava putting other MTB Riders and the general public at risk?

Having only joined Strava this week and starting to download rides it occurred to me that Strava may have some general safety issues as it means every mt bike track becomes a potential race track 24/7 and has the potential to change the way people ride their MT Bikes in shared open public areas.

If a club runs a race , they generally apply for a permit from parks or relevant landowner etc,close the area to the public , rope off the track, have first aide on hand and have someone or some body responsible for the race.


With Strava this all changes. Now every track is a race track 24/7
Here are two examples of problems I have already encounter.
Last year we were riding up Junction track at the You Yangs and a biker came flying down the hill much too fast for a two way track, we got out of his way (just) but he latter told us we destroyed his Strava run, ( at that stage I didn't know what he meant)

At Stonefly last weekend we were stopped on the side of the track fixing punctures and someone we knew came flying past on the ascent. He didn't stop and just pushed through yelling out Strava run.

Could Strava also change the vibe out on tracks were everyone is friendly, pretty chilled, polite and happy to stop help etc.

Obviously the answer is responsible riding however once people get covered by the Red Mist of competition , common sense and responsibility tend to take a back seat.
 
akashra

akashra

Eats Squid
Irresponsible riders are putting other riders and the general public at risk. Strava isn't helping encourage their behaviour to improve though :/

I'm not convinced it really changes much. We always have these issues with people descending, treating their weekend ride as though they're entitled to ride as fast as they can and not back it off 10-15%.
Strava just provides an additional tool to make it convenient for them to turn every run in to a timed run.

I suspect this discussion may have been had before under the guise of gun control :/
 
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dusty_nz

Likes Dirt
Agree, however is it any different from when you are racing it out with your mates.

Many times I have been caught on a section with mates and the red mist decends, Next thing I am chasing friends down tracks that are way to fast and irresponsible.

Can't really blame Strava for a natural competitive nature in people.

Its the reason we jump off buildings and do nudie runs.
 
cleeshoy

cleeshoy

Eats Squid
mmatrix said:
With Strava this all changes. Now every track is a race track 24/7
Here are two examples of problems I have already encounter.
Last year we were riding up Junction track at the You Yangs and a biker came flying down the hill much too fast for a two way track, we got out of his way (just) but he latter told us we destroyed his Strava run, ( at that stage I didn't know what he meant)

At Stonefly last weekend we were stopped on the side of the track fixing punctures and someone we knew came flying past on the ascent. He didn't stop and just pushed through yelling out Strava run.

Could Strava also change the vibe out on tracks were everyone is friendly, pretty chilled, polite and happy to stop help etc.

Obviously the answer is responsible riding however once people get covered by the Red Mist of competition , common sense and responsibility tend to take a back seat.
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If someone tells me I ruined their strava run, I reckon I would tell them to get f***ed - perhaps not as bluntly as that but you get my drift. If the track is 2-way, you have just as much right to be there as the person racing for a KOM on Strava. If they don't like it, they can either try it again at 4am when noone is around or try it in a "proper" race situation.

I am on strava and have chased a few KOMs before, but its never been at the risk of running into someone.
 
Ackland

Ackland

chats d'élevage
I am guilty of pushing hard on sections that I know are timed on STRAVA but if I encounter anyone on the trail I abort my fast lap and continue at a more gentle pace.
It's the luck of the game....
 
Moggio

Moggio

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I think there are riders who just like the fun of riding and are overall pretty slow and crappy (ie insert me here!), but its pretty natural for a large number of riders to be highly competitive and its a pretty natural thing and fair enough good on them. Strava and the abilty to comptete with many others makes perfect sense in that way.

However I think if anyone thinks they are special and should be treated in a preferential manner just because they are timing themselves they need to learn some manners and get a reality check. If its a shared trail between walkers and riders then they have to give way to walkers and if they don't and compromise the right for the trail to be a shared trail then that is to be severely frowned upon. And of course anyone getting hurt just because someone is going for a best time is atrocious.

Makes me think of a few months back we were doing some trail work on the Oaks single track and riders had to slow down to pass us. Everyone was really nice and thankful except one guy who goes "Great, well there goes my time!!"... I was very tempted to put a rakhoe through his spokes, but that would have been bad manners! :)
 
mtb101

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
the real Stava achievements are the KOMs, and I aren't very dangerous climbing. Strava does add a layer of fun to ride, but as others have said back off if it aren't safe.
 
O

oldbean

NSWMTB
Ackland said:
I am guilty of pushing hard on sections that I know are timed on STRAVA but if I encounter anyone on the trail I abort my fast lap and continue at a more gentle pace.
It's the luck of the game....
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I agree.

I was thinking about this as I rode home last night, chasing a KOM on a section of bike path. I always try and smile and say G'day to everyone I pass on the path or trail, but last night I was also conscious of trying to keep my speed up and not slow down too much. It got me thinking about how it might change the 'vibe' out on the path and trail, but I had not considered the safety aspect.

As akashra said,
akashra said:
Irresponsible riders are putting other riders and the general public at risk.
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so we all just need to take responsibility and not put our own pride before others safety.

But this would happen regardless of Strava. Someone could just be using their own stop watch to time themselves. Maybe Strava will end up putting a disclaimer on their site about riding responsibly etc etc.
 
Benizmo

Benizmo

Likes Dirt
I noticed this phenomenon the last few times out at the you yangs myself, but when I returned home my KOMs were still unbeaten anyway :)

I would imagine the people yelling out "Strava run" are probably racing their mates times rather than actual leaderboard times, and they probably rode like that before Strava was around anyway, there will always be douche-bags out on the trails

You can always flag segments as inappropriate as well if you think the track is unsafe for a timed segment
 
Timmy!!!

Timmy!!!

Likes Dirt
A "Strava run" isn't the reason someone is riding like a dickhead. They are riding like a dickhead because they ARE a dickhead. Strava just gives them a yet another excuse for their dickheadedness.

Strava is fun. I sometimes do "Strava runs" so I can prove what a Big Swinging Dick I am. But if you're going to take them so seriously that you yell "Strava run!" at someone, or push them off the trail, or whatever, then you need to get a life.

Seriously, when was the last time you walked into a bar and picked up because you had KOM on Strava?
 
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drfuentes

Likes Dirt
And you document any illegal riding you might do

Ever log a ride onto your strava account that was on a parks singletrack? illegal. On a council reserve, illegal. In a national park, illegal.
Are you identifiable from your strava account? Yes
Does it document when where and how fast you did this illegal thing? Yes


www.creswicktrails.com
 
M

m_g

Likes Dirt
Ackland said:
I am guilty of pushing hard on sections that I know are timed on STRAVA but if I encounter anyone on the trail I abort my fast lap and continue at a more gentle pace.
It's the luck of the game....
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sorry mate, but you're a dickhead...what makes you think you can stop descending at 50km/h (?) to give way to a kid coming around the corner or a bushwalker coming the other way....trails outside races are not race tracks....i dont ride in the royal NP proper anymore as there are so many blind spots, and so many weekend warriors fangin' it...

"it's the luck of the game"???WTF???....are you saying that someone out bushwalking/riding should expect that they may be injured by someone riding too fast for the conditions?? The "luck of the game" is that you should expect to get injured out on the race track (and deal with the consequences), not dabbing along a two way trail on a lazy sunday ride....geeez

ps- I dont have a problem with road KOM timed runs ...hard for those to be dangerous
 
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scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
m_g said:
sorry mate, but you're a dickhead...what makes you think you can stop descending at 50km/h (?) to give way to a kid coming around the corner or a bushwalker coming the other way....trails outside races are not race tracks....i dont ride in the royal NP proper anymore as there are so many blind spots, and so many weekend warriors fangin' it...

"it's the luck of the game"???WTF???....are you saying that someone out bushwalking/riding should expect that they may be injured by someone riding too fast for the conditions?? The "luck of the game" is that you should expect to get injured out on the race track (and deal with the consequences), not dabbing along a two way trail on a lazy sunday ride....geeez

ps- I dont have a problem with road KOM timed runs ...hard for those to be dangerous
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For christ's sake, get your hands off it!

We ALL ride at high speed on public trails. If you think MTBrs don't you need to get your head out of your arse.

He is saying " the luck of the game" to mean he has lost the chance for that run to be a fast timed one. NOT that a walker should cop it.


GUESS WHAT PEOPLE! We had timers before Strava ever came along, so to think people are pushing harder because they have a new timing system is simply dumb. Yes, I know Strava compares times to many others, but times were being kept beforehand anyway.
 
Anarchist

Anarchist

Likes Dirt
Timmy!!! said:
A "Strava run" isn't the reason someone is riding like a dickhead. They are riding like a dickhead because they ARE a dickhead. Strava just gives them a yet another excuse for their dickheadedness.

Strava is fun. I sometimes do "Strava runs" so I can prove what a Big Swinging Dick I am. But if you're going to take them so seriously that you yell "Strava run!" at someone, or push them off the trail, or whatever, then you need to get a life.

Seriously, when was the last time you walked into a bar and picked up because you had KOM on Strava?
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^ = gold! If I hear "Strava run!" (better off yelling "I haven't had sex in long, long time!") out on the trails I'd slow down, get in the way and then LMAO! And, I'm on Strava. Nerds on bikes indeed. Long live the nerds at whatever speed they ride, just don't hurt anyone.
 
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