RidewithGPS v. Strava: One Opinion

I have a paid membership to both Strava and RidewithGPS. Here's my opinion:

Strava

• Cooler name
• Competition-based
• Lots of local members
• Cleaner (e.g. less wasted pixels) interface
• The first provider with solid smart phone app

RidewithGPS

• Far superior route planning
• More comprehensive ride metrics
• Nicer ride diary
• "Leave me alone I'm not racing anybody"
• Dedicated smart phone app finally released and it's fine (then I bought a Garmin 500 so don't use it)

I have a small share of Strava KOMS and an enormous share of KOM attempts. There are few segments nearby I swap with local racer-dudes.

I raced for a couple of years back in the early and mid-90s. It was fun to ride fast with training group rides. It was better to hang with other folks as into riding as me. I joined a team, signed up with a coach, and started seeing results. Then I crashed hard in a local criterium. I rode a couple more races after that but the light came on that said, "Wake up -- you're not being paid to do this and you have responsibilities."

So we bought a tandem and spent more time riding two-up. I spent less time at VO2 max, and more time saying "Look at that!" to someone I wanted to be with and who wasn't on the rivet (more on Tandems in other posts).

Strava takes me back to VO2 Max.

RidewithGPS is like my flying logbook -- a record of what I did, when I did it, and what I learned, failed to do, or will do better next time.

If you're a Strava fanatic, great -- enjoy! It has really changed training and riding for lots of isolated riders who can't train with a club or team.

NOTE: Strava's getting lots of attention, and it should -- slick interface, simple concept, solid delivery, BUT my Android hasn't been happy since the last update. Two rides ago it claimed I rode 8 MPH over 12 miles. Last ride it took FOREVER to load.

If you're a RidewithGPS guy, welcome to the more laid back club.

Now that RidewithGPS has released their long-awaited App, I've switched almost completely to logging rides in RWGPS. Every so often I think, "Oh! This is a KOM stretch!" Then relax, and tell myself, "Who cares?"

It's quite liberating, but I'm sure once the weather warms and I shed 10 lbs of winter clothing I'll be booting up Strava every so often on those days I'm feeling fast. Then I'll push super hard, come home, check the board, and find I'm 2 seconds slower than Local KOM Dude, who apparently doesn't have a job but can afford a Di2 equipped Venge. Then I'll leave Strava for week or so.

And then...

You know the drill.