You left your wife? Bet you still hear about that one.
Er, yes. We split up last year. Funnily enough the final ‘row’ happened after a mountain bike ride…
I use Strava to check my progress against myself. I fitted lighter wheels and tyres recently and was interested to find I set a PR on a local technical climb of about 1.2 miles.
I discovered that I did a downhill trail a bit faster after fitting wider bars.
I created a segment on part of a popular local downhill trail specifically to find out if the ride I crashed on was a ‘good run’ (from the start to the place just before I slammed into the ground!). It was a good run and faster than any run I’ve ever done up to that point (and since), so I want to ride faster and equal or better my previous best time without crashing.
Some people like the geeky self-analysis of Strava. And some people (like myself) find themselves single with a lot of time on their hands…
When I lose a KOM by a few seconds I try to retake it. If I lose a KOM by a large margin I just concentrate on PRs until I get nearer to the KOM again.
After using Strava for the last 2 years I find that I’m tons fitter which can only be a good thing. And I think I’m fitter than I would have been just riding for ‘fun’ because I’ve pushed my limits, especially on the climbs. The endorphins you get after completing a gruelling climb or challenging downhill are multiplied when you do the upload and discover you’ve done better than before.