He was on Strava

So Strava is pretty much the coolest app out there. Today’s world is literally buzzing with social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc, etc, etc. Well, guess what. They have nothing on Strava. My friends laugh that the best way to get in touch with me is to find me on Strava. Forget the phone, texting, Facebooking. Those are all way down the list of priorities. Strava is where it’s at. If you’re looking for me, chances are I’ll be checking my Strava notifications.

Strava is an awesome motivator. It turns daily exercise into daily races where even though you’re riding solo, you’re virtually competing against friends, foes, people you don’t even know, and perhaps most importantly, it makes you compete against yourself. Sometimes it turns friends into foes, and sometimes foes become friends. It makes you push yourself faster and harder. Strava helps you discipline yourself. Strava equalizes the playing field. When you’re done with a ride and upload your data and the results come back, Strava can be brutally honest, or it can be extremely gratifying, padding your ego. For better, or for worse. It’s an adrenaline rush, all in itself. It’s awesome. It’s addicting.

And like any addiction, it can make you do crazy things. There have been deaths caused by cyclists using Strava including a death in New York City’s Central Park from a cyclist-pedestrian collision. The cyclist wasn’t on drugs. He was on Strava. There have been multiple lawsuits filed against Strava for other deaths. But just like Second Amendment advocates tout, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” So it is with Strava. Strava won’t make you a better athlete. That’s up to you.

But Strava definitely helps, and it can really be addicting. It can help you push yourself harder. It helps you push your personal envelope. I love the Strava T-shirts:

So, just like any other good thing, it can be overdone. You can become Strava impaired or Strava distracted. You can become a Strava snob, a Strava geek, or a Strava recluse.

But more important than the bad Strava apples, Strava has changed lives. Several years ago, I was dozens of pounds heavier, and they actually had to surgically remove the remote from my hand. Now, every day I’m racing buddies, whether local, in other states, or even other countries.

So yeah, I think Strava is pretty much the coolest app out there.