Create segments that you will enjoy or will test you
Flag the obvious outliers after a fair review of their rides
In the beginning, there was the bike. And it was good. And then there was a second bike and they probably raced. But soon there were thousands of bikes or millions, and people started looking at others and stating “you’re doing it wrong.”
Some cyclists started looking down on others because of how they sat on the bike, the bike they rode, or the clothes they wore. Eventually, “the rules of cycling” were codified, if you will, into The Rules.
For many cyclists, this list of 101 rules became the official rules of cycling to be followed no matter what. For others, they are viewed as what many thought they were intended, a satirical look at the idiocy of some in our midst who worry about crisp tan lines and sock lengths (while criticizing the UCI for worrying about sock lengths).
Cycling can be expensive. It can be exclusive. We need more people riding and our attitudes turn off some potential riders. And so Phil Gaimon rewrote the 101 rules into just 11. These are The New Rules of Cycling: AKA Philuminati.
Phil took 101 “rules” and came up with 11. Basically, do what you want. Wave to people. Have fun. Don’t be a dick.
With that as a background, I was a little dismayed to find “The Un-Written Rules of Strava.” I am not going to dignify a new list by including here. But I stumbled on someone’s rules for Strava. Or the “Un-Written Rules for Strava.”
I disagree with almost every one of the unwritten rules starting with the spelling of “unwritten” (unwritten and not Un-Written).
The author states that you are not to go overboard in writing the titles for your activity. Who cares? “Ride in the pouring rain” is fine as is “Trip to the bank.” It’s your ride, use what you want. In fact, I have an automated title creator from Bandok.
Just a title from Bandok that was auto-generated
Make the title what you want. Running Magazine even had an article about the seven kinds of Strava title-makers. The more it is fun the more people will ride. Keep in fun. If long titles work for you, use them.
The Un-Written Rule keeper wrote down his rules and published them so we may disagree on more than the spelling of the word. How about a discussion on whether these are actually written rules. Hmmm.
He continued. Never flag a segment.
I have seen lots of segments where people in positions 2-5 are all grouped together within seconds but the “winner” (or KOM) for a segment was a full minute or two ahead of everybody. The author says to accept there are faster cyclists out there and don’t be a snitch.
There are plenty of cyclists faster than me. Most, in fact. There are some segments where I won’t be in the top 4,000.
Sugarloaf Mounatin, Florida (yes)
I look at the segments and ask if it could have been done on a bike. And how far does it stand out? On Strava you can see one’s entire ride. And it’s easy to determine if the effort was real. The presence of a heart-rate monitor is telling.
But I really have the problem with the author’s reasoning. He says to accept there will always be someone faster and don’t be that guy to report them. Cycling tried this in the 1990s and 2000s. It was called doping. No one was to call out another cycling for doping. In part, most were doping but even the clean riders were supposed to accept that someone else was faster. It didn’t work for doping and it doesn’t work for Strava.
I have flagged a handful of rides and in each case there was a clear ride portion of a few miles, usually averaging 10-15 mph. And then there was a segment, always at the end, which averaged 50 mph or more for the last couple of miles. In one ride where the user held a local segment (a half-mile from his house) the user’s last 15 miles were on I-95 in Northern Virginia where his top speed was 79 mph.
In all that I’ve flagged it appeared that the user inadvertently left their recording device on. I don’t believe for one second that any of the users decided they would get in their car to set a new Strava KOM. But more than just accept there is always someone faster, we also want realistic goals to chase.
The author then opined about what segments and how many are acceptable to create. He said on one 15-mile route that he rides there are 30 segments created. I say great! It doesn’t matter to him. Ignore them. Hide them. In my case, everywhere there is a decent enough uphill segment I create a segment. I want to challenge myself on my rides.
I have created a lot of local segments. And I always hope that I am not the default KOM when I create it. This gives me a goal set by someone other than myself. And if I pass someone for the KOM, they get a message or see that they are not the KOM any longer on a segment they probably didn’t know existed. And they can go out and reclaim, hopefully by just a few seconds, so I can try to recapture it again.
Lots of Segments – I did not create any of them
So the more segments the better. I’ve created some fun ones. Some challenging ones. And I know some on my local rides that I just ignore.
At the end of the year, Strava tells us how many kudos we’ve given and how many we’ve received. Strava wants users to be engaged. But the author encourages users not to give kudos for boring rides. Because he decided.
I saw one user who gave thousands of kudos (and usually always finds mine). He stated simply that he gives kudos for anyone who gets off their coach and exercises. Bravo Vince! I now do the same but, so far, only for outdoor activities. I don’t know what’s going on when I see a computer image of Alpe d’Huez. I’ve ridden the Alpe and it doesn’t look like a computer screen. But I will get there (giving kudos for indoor workouts).
So that’s it. One user felt it was necessary to write un-written rules for Strava. Don’t use titles to which he will disapprove. Don’t give kudos unless it’s for something epic. Don’t create too many segments. And don’t flag faster rides obviously done in a vehicle. So basically, I do Strava wrong.
Now off to create more segments. Hopefully those are on his route. I do Strava right. For me.
Ah, 2020. No complaints. Just different. For the first time in years, I did not attend an in-person cycling event as the coronavirus forced the cancellation of the events I would normally have or hoped to attend.
My riding became much more localized and I certainly made the best of the opportunity. It was a year I set a personal record for mileage and for days ridden (thanks to being a Leap Year). I just rode locally instead of nationally or internationally. No complaints.
MY TOP TEN MOMENTS/MEMORIES
Two New Bikes
The Bear Whisperer
Virtual Podium
Strava, Strava, Strava
Solo Centuries
Pine Creek Trail
A Ride Every Day
KOMs and a Local Legend
Mount Mitchell
Weight Loss
TWO NEW BIKES
Everybody likes a new bike, right? Well, except when you don’t want to get rid of the old. But my 2014 Trek Domane and my 2006 Trek Pilot both reached the end of their useful lives. I got some warranty help from Trek and now have a 2020 Domane and a 2021 Checkpoint (gravel bike).
2020 Domane
2021 Checkpoint ALS 5
THE BEAR WHISPERER
I suppose if you are outside enough, particularly in the wilderness, you will see a bear. I saw my first near Frostburg, Maryland in 2010. I saw my second while climbing Mount Evans, Colorado in 2016. And then … September. First I was on Rectortown Road in Fauquier Co., Virginia on Sept. 2 when I saw a bear. And then on the 22nd, I was on the Pine Creek Trail near Jersey Shore, Pa. when I saw another one. September was a good month for bears.
There’s a bear in those woods
A PODIUM VIRTUAL
Ben King’s Ride Home Roads virtual event offered prizes for distance and climbing – categories I think I could have done well in, except this ran during the Tour de France. And I spent four hours per day watching the Tour instead of riding. But I did win a prize for the social media portion of his event.
A real polka-dot jersey for the 65-69 age group at the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo
Jeremiah Bishop‘s Alpine Loop Grand Fondo offered prizes for best times on Zwift – except I don’t do Zwift. They also had category winners and I won the jersey in the 65-69 year group. I had a number of PRs including a couple of KOMs this summer.
Bib 1 – Alpine Loop
STRAVA, STRAVA, STRAVA
Yes, Strava has been around for years. But this is the first year I subscribed to it to get local segments to display on my Wahoo bike computer and it changed the way I ride. A long solo ride at speed may have had me being complacent if not a bit bored but having segments pop up while I ride forced me to go hard in stretches where I otherwise wouldn’t have. It made me a better cyclist and made my rides more fun.
SOLO CENTURIES
With no events planned I rode my own solo centuries. I did two in August and then in October went to Ocean City, Md. to ride the canceled Sea Gull Century. I rode it solo from Ocean City instead of Salisbury, Md. and I rode it backward, in part to see if other people had come to the beach to ride (they had), and in part, because riding a familiar route backward makes it new to you. Assateague Island
PINE CREEK TRAIL
Not all miles were road miles and in September I went to Jersey Shore, Pa., and rode the 64-mile Pine Creek Trail through the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.” Since I was riding solo I had to ride it out-and-back but the “back” was mostly on the road. Trails are nice but the road calls.
Pine Creek Trail near Jersey Shore, Pa.
A RIDE EVERY DAY
It began last year on January 1. For my 10th Cancerversary year I set a goal of riding at least 10 miles, outside, every day. And it continued this year. In the cold (18°), heat (100°), rain, and snow – I rode. Now I have ridden 731 straight days. Don’t know when it will end but if I continue to September 26, 2021, it will be 1,000 consecutive days.
Not every ride had beautiful weather and beautiful views like this one at Shawnee State Park near Schellsburg, Pa., 8-17-2020
KOMs AND A LOCAL LEGEND
Strava has segments in which one can try to beat their own times (Personal Records) but also be “King of the Mountain” (KOM), i.e., the best ever. Since everyone is younger and faster than me I never expect to be the KOM for any segment. But it didn’t stop me from trying. And I ended up with four KOMs in 2020, none more satisfying than the two-mile segment on Minnieville Road from Spriggs Road to Rte 234. I was hoping for an age group best but did not know the KOM was in reach. I finished in 4:56 besting the second-place time by 27 seconds. Each time I ride that segment I wonder how in the heck did I do that in under five minutes? (Hint: With light traffic, I never used the bike path and stayed on Minnieville Road the entire time.)
Somewhat easier for me to obtain was the status of ‘Local Legend’ which is awarded to the cyclist who completes the most segments in a 90-day period. And so, quite predictably, I became a local legend on a number of segments because I ride every day and I stayed mostly at home.
Strava KOMs
MOUNT MITCHELL
In November I went to Marion, North Carolina, and rode up Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain in the eastern U.S. It was a cool day with few people around so from the parking lot I rode up the access trail to the summit to the applause of the few people there.
Mount Mitchell State Park
WEIGHT LOSS
As I close out the year the scales said I weighed less than I did in high school. Yes, it was planned and yes, it was hard work. But I need to keep it going for a lifetime.
All in all, it was a good year. Sure, I didn’t get to go to events and missed seeing friends, especially in Austin, Texas, and in California. But with 1,000,000 reasons to give up, I did not. 2020, I will miss you.
But there were other moments that defined 2020.
THE BEST AND WORST OF THE REST
BEST SMELL – Balsam firs at the top of Mount Mitchell. How aromatic. I felt sorry for people in their cars driving to the top with their windows closed tight.
BEST SMALL TOWN – Mayberry, of course. I went to Mount Airy, N.C. and rode to Mabry Mill near Meadows of Dan, Va. The ride was great but afterward rode through Mount Airy and it was a ride back in time. I even ate at Barney’s (Fife) Cafe like the locals. But I didn’t see Aunt Bee.
Barney’s in Mount Airy
WORST ENDING – White’s Ferry – WTF is that?!? When all else failed and I needed a go-to ride to bring a smile to my face, I would head to Leesburg and to White’s Ferry to cross the Potomac River on a ferry. On December 28 they announced they were closing for good as two entities, Rockland Farms and Whites Ferry, were having a food fight with a touch of Loudoun County thrown in for good measure. I don’t know what the future holds. Is it gone forever? I can’t imagine it so. Will Maryland (Montgomery Co.) and Virginia (Loudoun Co.) governments step in and create a public ferry? I do know that 600 commuters each day depend on the ferry. As does this cyclist.
Whites Ferry 11-14-2020
FUNNIEST COMMENT – “You got skinny!” In September in the parking lot at The Bike Lane in Reston, Va., the owner, Todd Mader, who I have known for 20 years at first walked by me and said “Excuse me, sir.” Then he did a double take and said “Barry, I didn’t recognize you. You got skinny!”
BEST BURGER AND FRIES – In a year in which local riding was necessary, my go-to local ride was the “Manassas Loop” with a stop at Fosters Grille in Manassas. A nice outdoor eating area across from an active passenger train station, it was a perfect stop on my rides.
Fosters Grille Manassas
STUPIDEST DRIVER – On March 9, I turned the blind corner on the W&OD at Leesburg to go under Rte. 15 and almost was hit head-on by a car on the trail. “I was just following my GPS,” the driver said.
COOLEST GRANDKIDS I – We had a week with our granddaughters and during that time got our youngest up and riding on two wheels.
Up on Two Wheels
WORST IMPRESSION OF UNCLE SAM – Me. July 4. This photo and a subsequent bonk the next day led me to make a lifestyle change. It’s embarrassing to be here but is a reminder not to repeat the past.
July 4 – Uncle Sam would not be impressed
COOLEST GRANDKIDS II – I took our grandsons, ages 10 and 12, to the W&OD Trail and we rode 28 miles of the trail. Although it was over two days, there are not many 10-year-olds out riding 14-15 miles at a time.
Grandsons
WORST DECISION – After a double flat failure I decided to walk home barefooted (to save the cycling shoes) rather than to call for a ride. I tore up both feet after only 1.5 miles.
Wore my foot out
BEST GOOD SAMARITAN I – Scott Turner, in Montclair, who saw me walking while pushing my bike and asked if he could give me and my bike a ride home. I did not hesitate saying yes and he didn’t mind my bloody feet in his car.
WORST MECHANIC – Me. I rode a new bike (2020 Trek Domane) with deep rims and could never get the right size tube and stem. The valve stems, while working fine for a floor pump, are too short to allow a CO2 cartridge to fully inflate the tire. After five failures on the road, here’s hoping my 60 cc stems will work the next time. I probably should waste a CO2 and test one first.
70,000 MILES CANCER-FREE – And at the end of the year it was 74,378 miles which is just 326 miles short of being three times around the Earth at the equator (74,704 miles)
BEST ROAD RIDES NOT ON THE ROAD – While the Pine Creek Trail was a destination trip, it wasn’t the only rail trail that I rode. Of course, I ride the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) so frequently that I forget it is a rail trail. I also rode the Great Allegheny Passage between Meyersdale and Fort Hill, Pa. and in Pittsburgh; the Hoodlebug in Indiana Co., Pa. the Western Maryland Rail Trail in Hancock, Md.; and the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, N.C. I also rode the Path of the Flood Trail in Johnstown which is part rail-trail as it follows the Allegheny Portage Rail Road and goes through the first railroad tunnel built in the U.S.
American Tobacco Trail
WORST ENDING FOR A GOOD CAR – It was nearly the perfect car for my riding. It had a DIY rack and could transport two bikes in the back of my 2002 Toyota RAV4 and two more on top. But it also had 334,000 miles and when a barrel fell off a truck in front of me on US 220 in Williamsport, Pa. in September, the car was totaled. I was uninjured but I was a bit sad losing this car.
Toyota RAV4
Toyota RAV4 with DIY Bike Rack
BEST GOOD SAMARITAN II – A man named “CW” on Captiva Island, Fla. gave me a ride after a couple of flats (glass through the tire) to Sanibel Island to a bike rental store.
CW on the right
WORST WEATHER WIMP – Me. On Christmas Day I rode in Washington, D.C. to see the Christmas decorations. Only out for one hour and with temperatures about freezing (34°), my hands literally froze. I could not feel the touch screen on my phone to take a photo. I could not remove my key from my pocket. Not could I feel to unbuckle my helmet (and that’s what friends are for). My hands were like numb clubs but this may be a harbinger of things to come.
FALLS – I HAD A FEW – Well, two. I had gone more than 500 days without a crash/fall and then on a foggy day when I tried to cross a grass median on Rte 234 to get to the bike trail, I hit a sunken 2×4 that was in the high grass which caused me to me a have a heavy fall on the asphalt. Please don’t litter.
Less than three weeks later, I was again trying to cross a grass median, this one in Lake Ride, to avoid a couple ahead of me on the path. It looked safe but the grass concealed a hidden ditch. My wheel went into it and I went over the handlebars, ever so slowly. I almost sat down in the grass more than fell, but it was a fall. I laughed.
A MILEAGE RECORD – Having ridden 10,000 miles in 2019, I didn’t think I would repeat that. I didn’t. I bettered it.
Final Stats for 2020 – But this one includes a 3-mile walk. Waiting for a new graphic from Strava for 10,500.
BEST GOOD SAMARITAN III – On Sanibel Island at Fennimore’s Cycle Shop, they did not have the right size tube to sell me. Instead, they gave me one of their rental road bikes to ride across the causeway and retrieve my car so I could return for my bike.
Removing the platform pedals from the Fuji for me to ride
BEST ICE CREAM – Just as Fosters Grille gave me purpose to ride my Manassas Loop, so too did Moo-Thru give me purpose to ride in Remington, Va. Tim Casebere and I did a ride in Culpeper, Va. when I realized where Moo-Thru was. So I created a route from nearby Remington which would stop at Moo-Thru. In all, I probably stopped there six times or so.
Moo-Thru, Remington. Va.
WORST PAYMENT ON A TOLL ROAD – Having parked on the Fort Myers, Fla. side so I could ride across the causeway to Sanibel Island and also avoid a $6 toll, I accepted the offer of Fennimore’s to take their bike and retrieve my car. Actually, I should have gone to my car and retrieved the right tube and maybe a new tire, which I had with me in the car. Now I’m on the hook for $6 (plus fees).
BEST GOOD SAMARITAN IV – Me. On April 9 I saw a young woman pushing her bike. I offered to help her fix it but I couldn’t fix the dangerous wind she was riding in. So I gave Erin a ride back to her car. We became friends and would ride together a dozen times, often with my friend, Tim. In a year of complete repetition and some boredom, riding with someone new to the area gave me a renewed purpose to look at my routes through the eyes of a first-time rider.
BEST REPLACEMENT FOR A CAR – My new (used, but it’s new to me) 2020 Ford Transit. I didn’t find it, it found me. Can carry my bikes and my DIY rack from the RAV4 moved over with just a slight modification.
2020 Ford Transit Connect
DIY Bike Rack
With less adventure and no events, I made the best out of 2020. And it was my best year ever. Here’s to a better year in 2021.
Stats from RidewithGPS. Strava (for now), included the 2.5 mile walk home in my bare feet accounting for the 3-mile difference.
MILESTONES – The Strava training calendar said that I set 843 personal records. That will be hard to beat in any year.
WEIGHT (AT START): 212 lbs (Minimum. Complete guess. It could have been 10 pounds higher)
Oh how Strava Live Segments change everything. I came to ride the BlueRidger Proper (counter-clockwise). The weather was mostly sunny at the start but with a strong wind which would be cross-head or just a headwind for much of the ride. The temperature was 70°.
A few weeks ago I had ridden on Rectortown Road and found a segment I liked: Frogtown Road to Atoka Road. My goal for today: PR on that segment.
Rokeby Road, Upperville, Va.
I am loving my Live Segments but not every segment I sat seems to show up on my Wahoo. Once it’s there it stays but I never no until the next time I approach a segment if it will be a Live Segment. I rode off into a very strong headwind. Part of me said to just pedal through it while another part said to go for it. I listened to the bad me.
It did not show up as a Live Segment. Nor do I think that it would have done any good. I changed my time display to see elapsed time and went passed Frogtown at 8:48. As I approached Atoka Road I could see I was around 11:24. I knew I needed 2:24 and not 2:36. I was way off. And it was the wind. Well, at Atoka a woman looked at me and pulled out right in front of me causing me to sit up. I didn’t have to brake but I could no longer keep the pedals moving. So I settled for 3rd best of my time which was really tied for the second-best of my times. But way off the mark.
General Store at Airmont
The rest of the ride was uneventful. On Rectortown Road the road “bottoms out” as it crosses Goose Creek. I wanted to hit 40 mph here and I did. And then I got a Live Segment – GO! This was for Rectortown Test Climb. And even though I was riding into a strong wind, I decided to see if I could PR it. I was happy when 3:53 (New PR!) popped up. Old PR had been 4:15. Then I could rest the rest of the way.
House on Snickersville Turnpike near Bluemont
Fighting the wind, I averaged 16.1 mph out to Airmont. Without doing a deep search, I found a ride from 11 years ago where I averaged 18 mph on this part. But that was in a group; I didn’t fight winds in my face; and I was 11 years younger.
Bluemont, Va.
Passing through Bluemont, it appeared to me that some new construction has taken place since the last time I rode through here. There was a building on the left and then I saw the E. E. Lake General Store. Apparently it is a welcome center but has the old General Store facade.
General Store, Bluemont, Va.
The climbs were pretty much as I remembered them. Moderately hard. There is a steep climb out of Bluemont on Snickersville Turnpike. It has a 180° switchback at the top and is flat over to Rte. 7. Rte 7 has a wide should as it climbs to the top of the pass. This is the easiest of the three sections here. And turning on Blue Ridge Mountain Road is a pretty steep climb with no end in sight. I still don’t know where it finally ends and dips down.
Ashbys Gap, US Rte 50, Paris, Va.
The ride off the mountain is nice. When I got to U.S. 50 I found it was too windy to descend without braking. That may have been the first time I rode here using brakes. But there were cross-wind gusts hitting me making it hard to control the bike.
Paris, Va.
Once on Leeds Manor Road I expected and received, a Live Segment for Naked Mountain. Once it starts the Wahoo displays the elapsed time, a contour map of the climb, your estimated time, and your PR time. My PR coming in was 9:06. Today I went through in 7:44.
Ashby Inn, Paris, Va.
There is pavement on this road but it is rough. I wanted to descend faster but didn’t trust the pavement. Rounding a corner on a downhill the road turned up and a GO! appeared. This was for Naked Mountain Winery. It’s a short climb but I had no legs. Pretty much left everything I had a few minutes ago on the Naked Mountain climb. Wahoo disagreed. My old PR was 2:21 and I lowered it today to 1:41. I would like to see what I could do when I didn’t fight the winds.
Naked Mountain Winery
The last 10 miles from Markham I had great pavement and crappy pavement. I thought I had a tailwind but my speed was only 16 mph – the same as the first 20 miles into the wind. Maybe my legs were fried at this point.
I wanted to beat four hours and came in at 3:47. Goal accomplished. It was a good solo ride fighting the winds. Wish I could do better but Strava thinks I had a good day.
Strava PRs
Distance: 55.2 miles Time: 3:45 Average: 14.7 mph Weight: 180
Until November 2019, I was running the Garmin 510 bike computer which was not one of the newer ones capable of live Strava segments. I bought the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and slowly made a transition to running the Wahoo.
There was a learning curve for advanced features although the basic stuff of speed, time, and distance, were ready immediately. I rode through spring and then in late spring, upgraded to a paid subscription for Strava.
Before subscribing, I would check known segments after each ride. Sometimes I would set a new PR (personal record). Usually not. Nowhere was this more evident than in the summer of 2019 when I was chasing a segment in Prince William Forest Park.
Each day I would go to the segment and go full out for 45-50 seconds. Sometimes I thought it felt good. Other times I knew I didn’t have it. Then one day I got home and uploaded my ride and found I had the KOM.
Live Strava Segments are just that. As I approach a segment I am notified. Then the big GO! appears on my screen. Throughout the segment, I can see my progress.
Looking back on those Prince William Forest Park segments, I always went as hard as I could. So seeing that I was one second down may not have been enough to find that one second. But when I’m on the 3-5 or 10-minute segments, one can find the energy to push it a little harder to match the last time when you are getting feedback.
Live Segments have changed the way I ride. I do a lot of LSD (Long, Slow, Distance) rides. I also know that interval training is necessary to improve. Live Segments give me those intervals that require me to go hard.
Nowhere was that better shown than today’s ferry ride. The W&OD was crowded but I came to the Kincaid Climb just before Leesburg. I was worried about getting a good time here because there was a slight headwind and there were lots of people. If I had to slow while waiting to pass I knew I was toast. But bad luck avoided me and my computer said 1:38 which was down from my previous PR of 1:55. My actual Strava time was 1:39.
Without Live Segments, this is one I would normally just roll through with no effort. In fact, my last ten rides, before today, were: 2:27, 2:17, 2:43, 2:28, 1:55 (old PR), 2:18, 2:24, 2:31, 2:44, and 2:23. I went hard and was rewarded. It’s not great – I am 33rd overall but that’s out of 16,292 athletes. So in that regard, this old cyclist is in the top 99% – 99.8% to be exact. And I am number one in my age group.
I even hesitated to go for a PR on Kincaid. Part of me wanted to save myself for the next climb. And that, too, is the beauty of Live Segments. Had I seen that I was down even 5-6 seconds I probably would have just sat up and soft-pedaled to the end.
I was expecting to compete for four segments today. The ones that show on my Wahoo are the ones that I have selected (starred). I was on the shoulder of US 15 North when I got the GO for Sprint to the SHIP and don’t get TRUCKED. Instant feedback – I went through in 2:01, lowering my time from 2:12 three weeks ago. My Strava time was actually 2:02. But I was two for two. I was on a roll.
A family exiting the ferry
I came today to improve my time on the climb after leaving Whites Ferry. Three weeks ago I did this climb and had a PR (9:17). I waited at the top for my friend, Tim Casebere, at what I thought would be the “finish” line. I was actually short of the finish which was located over the top of the climb and about halfway down the next dip in the road.
When I got home I saw that I was second on the day – beaten only by Tim by three seconds. I laughed. I guess the clock was ticking while I waited. So I knew that if I simply didn’t stop at the top today I would improve my time on Climb Outta Whites Ferry. I went hard, saw that I was 45 seconds up, and then saw the PR on the screen (7:25). Wow! Almost two minutes. Note the “official” Strava time was 7:26 – I’ll still take it.
Climb Outta Whites Ferry
I was happy. I was riding well and I headed next over towards Edwards Ferry then back into Poolesville. There was one segment remaining, that I knew of. It was a climb on Martinsburg Road. And I was three for three and drenched with sweat. And it felt great.
I made my way over to Beallsville and decided if Rt 28 was closed five miles ahead (there was a bridge out at the Monocacy River two weeks earlier when I rode it) that I would take the road which now would be less traveled. It was closed ahead and as I hoped, I had no traffic for the next two and 1/4 miles to the turn onto Martinsburg Road.
Immediately I was smacked in the face with a GO! I was on Power Station Hill Sprint. I could see it wasn’t long and went through in 0:39 – down from my previous best, 1:07. (Actual Strava time was 0:38). I was four for four.
I turned on the beautiful concrete Martinsburg Road and again, GO! I got into a big gear and watched my advantage over my PR increase. I went through the Concert Grind up to Wasche Rd. in 2:28, lowering my PR from 3:14. (Actual time was 2:27.). I was five for five and knew at least one more segment remained.
Martinsburg Road
The reason it was one more is that three weeks ago the Martinsburg Rd Spring Climb popped up while I was riding with Tim. My PR was 1:01 that day and I knew it was ahead. But would I have anything left after going five for five in previous segments?
These Live Strava segments have been wonderful but not perfect. Some that I have starred and are supposed to show up on my Wahoo, haven’t. And I had starred some segments before today and they did not show up as race segments. Yet. So I knew one remained but thought there could be more.
I hit the downhill portion of Martinsburg Road pretty hard then started up the climb. Then came the GO! and I dug deep. I finished in 0:45 which surprised me. And now I was six for six.
It was a good workout and I was prepared for more segments. I didn’t know how much more I could find if there were more segments to pop up. But that would be it.
Without Live Segments, I probably would have ridden “medium-hard.” But I never would have dug deep for six segments on this ride. I can’t see not being a premium member of Strava simply for this benefit. It has changed my riding for the better.
In the end, I had 17 PRs on this ride. For some of those I wasn’t even aware of but I got them because I went hard on the segments. Because of Live Segments.
The Remaining PRs
Trailside School to Catoctin Circle (17:47) N. Kind St. from North St. (2:16) 1/2 Sprint to the Ferry (3:37)* Jerusalem to Darnestown (6:46) 109 to Dickerson on 28 (6:34) Martinsburg Road (11:56) ElmerSchoolRd2 – Whites Ferry (6:38)* Run to Whites Ferry (3:36)* Whites Ferry Last Sprint (2:37) Come to Think of it I Did Just Get Off the Ferry (5:58) Belmont Ride to Clairborne Bridge (2:49)**
__ *These are starred segments in Strava but did not show up on my Wahoo to race. But I still did OK.
__ **I didn’t know this segment existed but two dicks went flying by me at the light at Catoctin Circle. It was a red light that another cyclist and I was waiting for. Just as it turned white (for pedestrians and cyclists), they had a head of steam and went flying by us dangerously close. I thought what dicks but then I caught them. I wanted to follow but they passed a couple of people dangerously close. When it was finally clear, I went by never to look back at them. I kept my speed up simply to get away from them. No one likes to ride near dicks.
