Strava segments on multi-use paths

[Raymo853]

What do folks think about Strava segments being created on the multi-use paths like the WO&D, C&O and Mt Vernon trail?

I am 100% against them. Each time I ride on the paths, my opinion is reinforced. There is such a wide range of user types and speeds, the last thing needed is any additional mechanism encouraging reckless behavior. My opinion on this really started after I got hit by another rider on the Capital Crescent and ended up with a dislocated shoulder. He never stopped by the way. He was trying to pass a slower rider while drafting another rider who barely cleared me.

Just yesterday I got in an argument with a guy defending his reckless blast between baby carriages. He said he expects others users to follow single-file and other protocols as to not hinder his attempt to set a best time. It encouraged me to go home and flag all the segments between Hunter Mill Rd and the end in Arlington. I found many already flagged, including ones titled !Please don’t flag! and !Only petty people flag segments!

I have flagged a lot of segments, especially those on the 14th street bridge multi-use path. I flagged so many that Strava contacted me and asked me to justify my actions. I did and their final statement was one of support of what I did. I know getting rid of segments will not stop the problems on these paths, but it cannot hurt.

Topic

[TwoWheelsDC]

Does this mean that all the hilariously hate-named MUP segments are going away?

Rosslyn Uphill Curtis Trail (not dangerous, we can keep going back and forth on this A-Hole) v7

[Powerful Pete]

I love that one…

[AFHokie]

@TwoWheelsDC 93038 wrote:

Does this mean that all the hilariously hate-named MUP segments are going away?

Rosslyn Uphill Curtis Trail (not dangerous, we can keep going back and forth on this A-Hole) v7

That’s the first thing I check for after each ride on that route…has a v8, v9, etc appeared. I love that guy.

[hozn]

Ironically, the Rosslyn uphill segment is won on the road, not the trail.

[cyclingfool]

@TwoWheelsDC 93038 wrote:

Does this mean that all the hilariously hate-named MUP segments are going away?

Rosslyn Uphill Curtis Trail (not dangerous, we can keep going back and forth on this A-Hole) v7

I hope so…

[Harry Meatmotor]

missed this thread the first time around – all i gotta add is:

knobby 29er tires + mountain bike gearing + mountain bike mass /= 35mph on the flat unless you can reliably dish out more than 800 watts. I suspect some minor fudging of anecdotal speeds (both in this thread, and in similar “i chased down this ELITE guy doing 100mph up the corkscrew on the custis trail just to verbally abuse him!” threads). otherwise, show me the stravaproof!

edit – according to [url]http://bikecalculator.com:[/url] 170lb rider, 27lb bike with mountain bike tires, hands on the tops of the bars, no wind, no gradient, 77 degree air temp, 10ft above sea level = 1236w

yeah… no.

[Powerful Pete]

Are you trying to tell me that segment at 92kph in DC (~57mph) might be fudged in some manner?

I am shocked. Shocked I tell you!:rolleyes:

Harry, I never, ever ever fib with regards to my cycling stories. I really did beat SuperMario in a training sprint using my 42 tooth chainring up front a few years ago in Tuscany. No really…

Strava is what it is. I use it to compare my results over time. What others do is a simple, pleasant distraction.

[Vicegrip]

@hozn 93034 wrote:

I think it is fine. While there is certainly something to be said for personal responsibility, things get a little hazy when you open things up for competition. And someone that might know better normally finds themselves pushing 35mph on the MVT. But it’s 6am, should be safe, right?

We have no shortage of excellent and challenging road segments around here that have cyclists moving at car-like speeds (i.e. sharing the road with similar-speed vehicles). Racing on the MUPs just is not necessary. There were always private segments for the folks that argue that they just want to track their speed day to day.

I hate to say it but I might not quite care enough to bother with a waver click. If I see that I got some PRs, cups or the rare KOM on a segment I wil look to see where it lies on the leaderboard and I have planed runs on some local hills during an existing ride. Have to say I like seeing a good placement in a well populated hill segment. Something simple, free and fun for an older fred to do now and then. I find Strava a great way to keep all my ride info in one place, simple for me to see trends and find other places to ride. I don’t mind the no MUPS thing and can see why others don’t want MUP segments. I was a bit peeved when the one classed hill on my ride home with lots of attempts on it was flagged as it is uphill with no intersections or blind spots. (That and I clawed and gasped my way to the first page) How is up a hill at 19 mph less safe than 20 on the flats? the issue ends up being where the spirit of the game gets distorted by some.

Seems that you have to make rules for the weakest link and this dumbs and dulls things down over time.

[Raymo853]

I

[jabberwocky]

I figured it was only a matter of time before Strava did *something*, since the segments are their bread and butter, and the constant flagging war was making the service considerably less useful for those who care about such things. This whole exercise is solely about covering their own asses, but such is life in our litigious society. While I think its ridiculous that people are out racing for segments on the W&OD, I also think its pretty ridiculous that people would sue Strava because someone crashed.

[jrenaut]

@jabberwocky 93117 wrote:

… its pretty ridiculous that people would sue Strava because someone crashed.

In these days of secondary and tertiary liability, it might make more sense to sue Google (if the person was using Strava on Android) or Garmin or Apple (Strava on iOS). All those companies have a much larger market cap, and you always want to sue “a major corporation with gobs of liquid cash….”.

[Author]

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