I’m working Nights tonight, but I just HAD to go out and do some hills for the Specialized Classic Challenge. Hopefully I’ll sleep better this afternoon.

You seen the fella who’s leading the Specialized challenge? I’m genuinely stunned how hilly Birmingham Alabama is, imagined it all to be flat marshlands!

Quick 40 miles with 7500ft climbing

How are you guys doing on the climbing challenge? I just hit 70,000 (67%) today. It’s getting me out twice a day almost every day at the moment! The guys at the top of that leaderboard are mentalists. I’m also mixing it up with Rob Lee’s 1000 miles in April, so there’s no easy miles or altitude for me this month! 😯

Not doing it, hardly done much riding this month!

It’s certainly improving my fitness with the Interval sprints I’m now doing on my London commute!

I’m at 10%… I’m struggling! I need to do a bit more on the road bike. got a sprint up a short hill that I like doing and am now KOM on it. Big up the steelies!

It’s certainly improving my fitness with the Interval sprints I’m now doing on my London commute!

Except all the KOMs are clearly people riding at 3am/RLJing!

I’ve got Upper Street Islington with no RLJ. Lucky with the timing!

I want the Blackfriers bridge Sprints. Got to be some drafting going on there with 30+mph speeds uphill!

Aye, lucky timing with a bus or something.

Or the phone/gps being dodgy which tends to be the case

I only joined the challenge at the weekend, so resting at 9%. Got a few rides planned for this week though, so hope to be at 11% by the weeeknd!

you do realise how amusing this is for non competitive people?

you do realise how amusing this is for non competitive people?

The sprints, I can see what you mean, but the Specialized Climbing Challenge is very much a personal thing. 105,000ft in a little over a month is a great achievement for anyone imho.

yes, its a good achievement on a personal level, I just find it amusing when people try to kill themselves to beat another user

Does anyone really use it for actual off road mountain biking type stuff? Seems mostly road climbs around our way.

I’ve got Upper Street Islington with no RLJ. Lucky with the timing!

That’s you is it?

Need to work Upper Street back into my commute…

Jools182 I agree with you! I’m up for people doing challenges, events and the such like but I don’t get the climbing one!
Add up the climbing in the 5 classics and triple it? I mean WTF! So just make up some BS challange and ride around doing it yourself! there is not meaning to that challenge..
Enjoy Dibbs….you’ll all be fooped due to too much excess and competitiveness 😉 Keep it going though we are having a chuckle 😉

I was working Days over the weekend and couldn’t ride, I’ve slipped to 1896th in the Climbing Challenge 😕
I’ve got 6 days off starting Wednesday morning to see how close I can get to 105,000ft, I’d like to think 60 or 70 thousand is do-able.

I’ve needed something like this to get me back out riding again, and I’m pleased just how quickly my fitness is coming back.

The hardest decision at the moment is whether to do 4000ft in 20 miles offroad on the Quantocks or 4000ft in 30+ road miles on Exmoor.

Dibbs it would have to be the 20 miles 4000ft OFF ROAD!!!!

M-C, not sure why you have such a problem with something like the climbing challenge. Anything that motivates people to get out there & ride is a good thing in my book. Just like structured training, having a target really helps (me at least).

oooh so close 😉

http://app.strava.com/rides/6858115#128353915

http://app.strava.com/rides/6858118#128353953

There’s always tomorrow.

you do realise how amusing this is for non competitive people?

Perhaps, but while you spend your time chuckling to yourself about it, others will be out there riding and loving the challenge. Will you ever feel the sense of satisfaction that comes from earning a KOM? I doubt it.

No because I am not competitive

I think I mentioned that earlier

You did. It sounded like loser-talk then too. 😆

Finished the climbing challenge – maybe a week ago. But, I spent the first three weeks riding in some Spanish mountains, so it was kinda cheating really.

I have nothing against people motivating themselves to do challenges I just find it a Wierd one that is all there is no rhyme or reason behind it. not like doing TC way or TD they make sense but pick some random bike races and treble the climbing…why not quadruple it and do it over 2 months that is all I am saying.

There’s always this for an easier challenge:

http://app.strava.com/challenges/rh2be

For those that think they’ve joined late, I thought challenges still went back to include eligible uploaded rides?

ok, i’ve just given this strava thing a go for a “one hour of hills” ride up and down ally pally/muswell hill. i’m now pissed off i’ve only got the 4th best time overall up the south climb to ally pally. 😡 😆

I like Strava on the whole (although I’m not obsessed by it like most seem to be :p ) but given descent segments are getting more popular + segments in cities I wonder how long it will be before the first recorded death of someone trying to beat a Strava time…

There’s been one – some bloke in the states hit a car at 50mph trying to win back his KOM on a descent.

that also occurred to me – the record descent time for muswell hill is already on my mind for next time!

went for another decent ride today, disappointed to only score one segment achievement in the whole ride! having said that, i’m reasonably happy with 2nd on Hornsey Rise, but by one second – if that damn bus hadn’t tried to run me over i’d have got top spot! 😆

I put Strava on my iPod only to find it keeps losing the signal, did a 14 mile loop from home & it said I’d done 7.3km.

yeah i don’t think ipod/phones have very good gps generally. good excuse to get a garmin device!

can i just add, i’m addicted to Strava now. makes every logged ride feel like you’re being watched. you know you have those segment times ticking away all the time, just willing you to keep the power down – knackering but effective! such a good concept, love it!

My commute home tonight was my first ever Strava ride. It’s amazing how much harder you try when you’ve got a bit of a goal, I’m wrecked now! Into a bastard headwind all the way as well. 🙁

I’d love to see all the people who post on the frequent average speed threads, the ones who claim to average 23mph on their DH bike with 2.7″ knobblies on their 10 mile road commute forced to use Strava for a week. Much amusement lies that way I feel.. 😉

likewise about the commutes and likewise about the headwind! every hill you get a sneaking suspicion there’s a segment involved, no respite. one annoying thing is not knowing where they start and finish first time round, guaranteed workout!

We actually had a break in the weather this afternoon and I’ve been out climbing hills on the Quantocks to get a last bit of footage for the climbing challenge 😳
I managed 60,390 ft in the end (67%) I think I could have done a lot better if I’d joined Strava known about the challenge sooner.
This months challenge (1470 miles in May) is totally out of my league 🙁

i wasn’t going to wear my Garmin today or do a recorded ride to work, but i went in at 3rd on a couple of climb segments yesterday without knowing where they were so couldn’t resist giving them both a decent attempt. looking forward to getting home to see how i got on! 😆

I have only been using it occasionally just to see what it’s all about, but yesterday riding home with an awesome headwind I went from 9th to 2nd on a particular climb mostly because of being wind assisted. I feel a bit cheeky now…