Using Strava to Record and Track Cycle Rides

Over a two-week period, I used Strava and its Android app to record and track my cycle rides. Having tried several GPS apps, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, I tend to choose whichever suits the ride rather than sticking rigidly to one. Strava, though, has earned a place among my regular cycling apps.

The app presents a clean, well-designed interface and tracks rides with impressive accuracy. At the end of a ride it serves up the usual statistics — distance, moving time, average speed and height gain — and every ride can be uploaded to the Strava website. The whole process works smoothly.

For a clear walkthrough of how the system operates, Strava’s own “How It Works” page is a useful starting point. My own rides appear on the site too; a recent trip from Horsham to Partridge Green is a good example, with further detail available once you are logged in.

The social side

Strava is also a social app. You can follow friends and people you know from networks such as Twitter and Facebook, and see the times they are posting for rides and runs.

The app lets you compare segments within each ride against your previous efforts and against other people’s times on a leaderboard. This feature has proved slightly controversial — the BBC reported on concerns about reckless racing prompted by segment chasing. For now, my main interest is comparing my own times, which is how I tend to use it.

Free and Premium

A Premium version offers additional features, including the ability to set goals, a power analysis of your ride and export of .gpx files. A comparison of the free and premium plans is available on the Strava site. Premium is not for me at the moment, though I may explore it further in the coming months.

Verdict

Overall, I rate the Strava app and system highly. It has an attractive interface, makes tracking cycle rides straightforward and lets you engage with other people by leaving comments and giving “kudos” on each ride. I expect to keep using it regularly.