STRAVA: Love or Hate?

Here in Marin County a lot of people think of STRAVA as the reincarnation of the devil. Not kidding. I even find myself hating on the social app for tracking rides and runs. Most recently I even stopped using if for a few weeks, I was really frustrated with all the extra patrols on perfectly good mountain bike trails and in my mind blamed STRAVA.

A little history about Marin County, most likely you already know but just incase. Here in the birthplace of mountain biking there are very few "legal" mountain bike trails anymore. Most singletrack is closed to bikes, there is some great spots; China Camp, Camp Tamarancho and few others but in large mountain bikes are supposed to only use and enjoy big, wide,  did I mention steep and boring fire roads. 

What this has done is forced many riders to become trail ninja's, dirt pirates, poachers or in the words of the many equestrians CRIMINALS. Since STRAVA hit the scene many people think that mountain bikers have become so focused on Personal Records (PR's), King of the Mountain (KOM's, male) and Queen of the Mountain (QOM's, female) they forgot to stop and enjoy the trails and other people using them. STRAVA segments are reportedly being used in public hearings and trail use meetings to show that mountain bikers are in fact using illegal trails and are going way to fast on the trails that are bike legal. 

But I ask, is this STRAVA's fault? Is it a horrible app that has caused more damage than good? It seems to defiantly be putting bullets in the oppositions gun. Lets look at some of the Pro's vs. Cons. On a personal level STRAVA has motivated my dad, who lives 4 states away to ride and gives us a social media to compare our rides over and keep in touch on a daily basis, not a huge deal with every other social media site, cell phones and emails but still it is an excellent way for distant friends and relatives to keep in touch and motivate each other. Another great aspect of STRAVA is the ability to track you own rides, milage, hours, bike maintenance, trails you name it, all in one convenient spot. So, onto some of the Con's. It makes every ride a race for some people, with that said a majority of the strava "racers" are going to ride like assholes most of the time anyways. But in some ways I am sure strava is like giving steroids to a bodybuilder. Another con is that fact that anyone with a log in and can see where people are riding, if you are "friends" you can see times and location. This is becoming a huge deal in the fight for trail access.

I am sure we could go on and on and debate till the wee hours of the morning about STRAVA but I personally think we need to place the "hate" where it belongs, and that isn't on STRAVA. Be upset with your local county administrators, your elected government officials, the "anti-bike" citizens, don't be upset with a social riding app.

I highly recommend anyone that reads this look into there local trail advocacy groups, donate money, go out to trail maintenance day, help give a good name to cyclists.