Do any of you do them?

I just got an email saying I can enter a challenge in July and if I cycle 130km in 24 hours, I get a virtual trophy and the opportunity to buy one of the special edition jerseys for $130.

I cant decide if it is genius or bat SH** crazy…

If you’re someone who responds positively to a challenge then it’s good. If it’s just going to stress you out if you don’t do it then it’s bad.

I did a few but found I was just choosing those I knew I could do without stretching myself which seemed pointless so I stopped.

I tell you what, don’t do it and I’ll sell you a jersey for $120

Win-win

Yes, got the rapha climbing one 2 years ago with about 7000m climbed in a week. The day ones are not as appealing but the week/month ones are great for motivation, the trick is to break it by half way or it a real uphill(pun intended) challenge. Also do them on a road bike unless your a proper masochist.

I sometimes do the monthly distance ones, if you’re getting to the end of the month and a couple of hundred km on the goals it can be a good incentive to get out for a few more rides.

have signed up for a few challenges and succeeded (several I signed up after already [intentionally] completing them 🙂 ) it’s pushed me to do bigger rides than normal, it is kinda the equivalent of getting your digital 25m swimming badge. I reckon it’s a much more healthy use of strava than chasing KOMs

Screw the shirts tho, stupid money.

currently trying to decide whether to sign up for rapha rising, 8800m in 9 days, if I go for it there’s probably going to be a few nights of up and down the same local hill umpteen times.

You don’t see many of those shirts out on the road.

More embarrassing than wearing the polka dot Jersey?

Doing the rapha rising one for the third year, got the last two, it’s motivation to push myself. Not doing it for the opportunity to buy something. Although I noticed people sell the Rapha rising roundels.

Just looking at the Grand Fondo one for July, a nice yellow reckon I might get that (just need to hit the road hard)

I enter them all but do my rides as normal 😳

Manage to complete most of them though – won’t manage the Rapha Rising one as that’s about 1000m of climbing a day for 8 days IIRC. Would be nice if it coincided with a mountainous cycling trip though.

if it wasn’t for the fact I’ve done 18km in the last 6 weeks due to injury and illness the 8000m would be on the cards, Using the rides from the last one it’s a 3 day challenge so Sunday/Wed/Sat should sort it but I reckon it’s a long way off…

I enter the Rapha Rising challenges that comes up this weekend – thats a bit of a challenge, more so because I still got this manflu.

The monthly grand fondo and other monthly ones are just a bit of desperate willy waving I think.

hmm ~29,000ft, wales this weekend should take care of ~10,000…
maybe…
<edit> Damn, doesn’t start til saturday.

The monthly grand fondo and other monthly ones are just a bit of desperate willy waving I think.

and the difference between a bit of willy waving and rapha rising is….?
unless you are private with no followers it’s all degrees of willy waving, desperate or otherwise.

Started this year, Done several now. Rapha festive 500 was hard, will look to the rising challenge though given family commitments I May not be able to do it in a couple of days. Done every gran fondo except one (as I had 2 races that month – gorrick enduro and erlstoke)

I did buy one jersey, the one for January. Because I liked it and I wanted to support strava (not premium). I do wear it and have been asked by a couple of riders about it, so a ‘talking point’ when you meet other riders.

The ones that think its willy waving I probably wouldn’t get along with so not fussed what they think…

I haven’t worked out what to do with roundals. Sat in my drawer…

The monthly grand fondo and other monthly ones are just a bit of desperate willy waving I think.

Ha, thats me then! Never really thought of it like that but there is an element of it I suppose. I’ve enjoyed them this year, got me out the door and doing more than I would have normally and it shows. Between work and family commitments the challenges are a welcome motivation. The Gran Fondo ones have been perfect, I’ve been squeezing them in between dropping off sprog 1 at school and picking her up, I’d normally not have cycled this far between drop off pick up. Got me looking for some new roads to try too. This along with a handful of segements have helped my break me ploddering/bimble norm.

Are they not all “road” based tho!

Are they not all “road” based tho!

You can please yourself. I usually do a fair bit of off road.

As a relative new comer to Strava, I just did the July Gran Fondo, and am going to have a crack at the Rapha Rising.

I say why not? Gives you a goal and keeps it interesting.

I appreciate I can please myself but knocking out 50 miles on the road is a damn sight easier than 50 miles on the Derbyshire trails.

Yep love em all extra motivation.

Are they not all “road” based tho!

yeah, some mtb based challenges would be nice, did a GF xc admittedly a lot of it was ncn stuff, but the bigger challenges are gonna be nigh on impossible offroad for most. Mind you I don’t think strava can differentiate between road and xc anyway so not sure how it could work. If they could ID the xc stuff would there have to be a minimum % of dirt as its pretty tricky to do a 100% xc route

the “Gran Fondo” are pretty easy – 130km is not much – guess its to sell jerseys,

Rapha Rising is a proper challenge IMHO and wish there were more of these

I do all the Rapha / Strava challenges. Maybe I should stick the full set of badges (sorry, roundels) on eBay… 😉

I did sign up to one of the monthly Gran Fondo things then promptly forgot all about it. And I did that Specialized Spring Classics challenge too and yes, I did actually buy the T-shirt. 😳

I like it as an occasional thing, gets me out and about, acts as an incentive to find some new trails. I do a lot of it on my CX bike so a good mix of road & trail. But doing all my rides as part of a challenge would get very tiresome very quickly.