Everything you need to know about Strava

Simply download the Strava app from the app store to your smartphone, a quick bit of information about yourself including age, weight and primary sport, and you’re away! You can record your activities using your smartphone, Apple watch, or handlebar computer (a Garmin or Wahoo for example). When you upload your first activity, you will be given all of the stats from your ride or run including your average speed, max speed, distance travelled, power output and calories burned, which is why being honest with your personal questions is very important! If you want even more accurate readings, connect a heart rate monitor to your smartphone or handlebar device, this will show you exactly how hard you’ve worked, and how many more drinks you’ve earned at the pool bar that evening. 

Our biggest use of Strava is its routes feature, free to use with any account. As we're only able to cycle close to home at the moment, you'll have to use your imagination for this next part! Each of our beachclubs has its own individual account, with a selection of routes which have all been mapped out by our bike guides. A mixture of mountain bike and road routes are available and you will find most of the information you need within the title of the route itself. If that’s not enough, feel free to leave a comment in our Neilson cycling club page, and one of our bike team will happily give you more detail on specific routes. The routes will be ready and waiting for you once we're all able to travel again. You will also see segments on the routes and activities, most of which our guides are the fastest on, not to blow our own trumpets…..of course!

All of the basic features you will need are free with Strava, uploading your activities, checking your statistics, connecting with friends. If you’re looking for a more personal experience, and to squeeze absolutely everything out of your sport, then check out Strava premium. With personalised training plans, coaching, advanced performance analysis and live feedback, Strava premium really is the accessory for every aspiring athlete. However, if you are just looking to follow a few local routes, then fear not, no card details required. 

If you’ve registered for Strava using your computer, make sure you download the smartphone app to get everything you can out of the platform. The smartphone app will let you record and upload activities, follow routes, analyse segments you’ve ridden, find friends to follow, let you search for clubs to join (the Neilson cycling club should be your first stop!), and set yourself distance and climbing challenges for the month or year. The desktop site can be used for a slightly deeper analysis of your rides and runs, and also gives you the ability to use the route builder function. Great for those looking to go slightly further afield, or to somewhere we’re yet to discover!

Using your cycle computer such as a Garmin will give you a more accurate reading on statistics than recording using your phone. You will however have to upload your activities via a laptop or computer to the desktop site. A worthwhile investment for any keen sports person, Garmin’s really are a fantastic piece of kit, giving you accurate readings, and easy to use maps when a GPX file is uploaded to the device.

Its clear, crisp and easy to use interface makes the app an accessory to your sport, giving you accurate statistics, and real-time performance data to enhance your training. Segments are the part of the platform most users find the most helpful, giving you an accurate break down of most sections of your ride, making it very easy and simple to track your improvements ride-by-ride, you can still see how all of your times rack up on a simple line graph in the free version. 

The main benefit of Strava to anybody going on a Neilson holiday is the ability to check out the rides we will be guiding before you turn up. This gives you the chance to assess which ability group you will fit into, and what the terrain is like. As we're unable to ride at our beachoubs right now, our guides are busy updating the Neilson cycling club on Strava with regular updates on the rides they're doing around their homes with pictures, statistics, and local segment times. A fantastic feature of Strava that you’re treated to once a year, is ‘your year in sport’, a full rundown of your biggest rides, best achievements and your most popular photos. See our bike coordinator Toby’s summer in sport at the Messini Beachclub here.

This is a near impossible question to answer, mainly due to the fact that every device has its pros and cons. The correct answer to this is one that only you can decide and what type of cyclist you are will hugely determine which you go for. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of the two most popular devices, smartphone and Garmin.

Smartphone pros: small and easy to carry • quick and easy to record and upload activities • no need to buy extra cycling specific device • won’t distract you from the scenery and riding like a handlebar computer • follow clear and easy to use routes from resort specific pages • breakdown of ride/run available instantly after activity is completed

Smartphone cons: battery can be drained faster than usual when app is in use • statistics not as accurate as handlebar computers • can shutdown if becomes too hot
  
Garmin pros: very accurate statistics • can upload GPX files of routes at beachclubs directly to device • small, compact and lightweight • long battery life and won't shutdown in heat • accurate breakdown of ride/run available instantly after activity is completed

Garmin cons: can be complex to use/read • can be expensive • must connect to computer/laptop to upload activities to Strava • can distract you when mounted on handlebars

Most of our guides have the preference of using their smartphones for the simple fact that it’s a familiar device, and as long as you keep the battery charged before riding, it won’t die, and it’ll give you all the statistics you need post ride with a quick and easy upload. We’ve also found that following routes on a smartphone as opposed to a Garmin is much simpler, with a clear display and line, there’s no chance of going the wrong way, and secure handlebar mounts available at all beachclubs make sure your device is safe when riding down those bumpy tracks and tight hairpin bends.

Segments: are timed sections created by Strava users. They are such a big part of the Strava experience, it's safe to say that pretty much any ride you do around the globe there will be a segment somewhere on it. If you’re cycling anywhere built up, expect to see 100s of them when you upload your activity.  They’re definitely one of the favourite features, and if you do happen to beat one of the guides, be ready that they’ll make it their mission to take it back!

Leaderboards: are a feature you will be able to find on any club page, but most importantly, the Neilson cycling club page. You will be able at a glance to see where you stand in the rankings that week for distance, elevation gain, average speed, and longest ride. Naturally due to the nature of the discipline, road riders will find it easier to rack up the highest miles, elevations gain and average speed, but there’s a lot to be said for a mountain biker pulling some of the biggest distances for the week, so get out there. 

Challenges: are a fun way to work towards a goal, with 1000s of people taking part in the same challenge at any one time. The challenges on Strava tend to be distance or climbing based, and will be spread across the month, when you reach the challenge goal you will be awarded with a trophy for your profile.