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I can totally figure out why you are desperately looking for a guide to using the Strava app for cycling. The app can be very confusing for someone new to this. But with the proper guideline and information, it can be as easy as any other application.
A lot of people usually download the app, but they can not implement Strava specifically for cycling. However, if you patiently go through this article, the procedure of using Strava will be crystal clear. In this article, I will provide all the necessary details and steps to follow to use Strava App for cycling.
In a nutshell, here are the basic 9 steps you should follow to fully utilize the Strava App. This article will also help you decide whether to use Strava for free or pay a monthly subscription. Hence, don’t go anywhere without finishing my entire article:
9 Simple Steps To Use Strava App For Cycling:
Users may face a few difficulties while they using the Strava app. For them here, I make the thing easier by providing 9 simple steps to use the Strava app for cycling:
Step 1: Download The App And Sign Up For Free:
Strava can be downloaded for free on your mobile devices for both Android and IOS. You can also visit their website and register from your desktop.
They will send you a link in your email to verify your account. You can start experiencing Strava within a few minutes by clicking the link. I will explain later in this article if you should use Strava for free or a premium account.
Make sure you are giving the right information while signing up. Fill out the signup form by giving accurate weight, height, and date of birth. Strava App will measure the heart rate according to your age and other physique features.
Step 2: Customize Your Profile For A Better Look:
After signing up on your mobile devices or on your desktop, you can add your profile picture and set the name of the bikes you plan to use for your daily riding.
You will definitely add your friends and family so you can link your outside social media accounts or any other fitness apps for a better experience.
Step 3: Update Your Setting For A Better Privacy And Safety:
By clicking the privacy and safety tab, you can restrict your personal data, which will keep your personal information and location visible to a limited number of people.
You can always control the audience who can view your scores and location. You can also set and decide if you want your followers to see your activities or if any person to see your activities on Strava.
Strava records your route, and if you want, you can share your heat map with other cyclists and help them find the safer and easier route for their desired location.
Strava automatically collects your data and makes the heat map available to the global people. It benefits the travel planner but will keep your route confidential for others to see if you don’t allow it.
Step 4: Be Unique And Creative:
To gain more followers on Strava, do something unique and creative to catch the audience’s eyes. You can name the route where you ride and also add pictures that will give your profile a unique look.
If you miss going out to ride any day, you can always update your status by posting on your profile, by which your audience will get to know your updates and what you are up to.
If you have a premium account, you can use the “Routes Builder Tool” and set your rides even before tracking the distance and time.
You can also view other people’s routes and see the safest route to travel instead of making a wrong turn.
Strava Art helps you to find your inner artist, your route on the map will be marked with a red dot, and you can explore different routes to make your journey look beautiful and creative.
Step 5: Record Your Ride Using Strava:
It is very simple. Go to the Strava app to find ‘Record your Ride.’ Just click on the record ride and start riding. Always make sure the timer is on before you start your ride.
You can see the giant timer, and as long as you are riding, it will record your journey. Once you start Strava, you can see a green strip at the top of your phone, and if you click the green strip, it will take you straight away to the Strava App.
Once you are done riding, you can stop the record button by clicking on a red stripe. It will record your route; you can name it and share it with your friends on social media and Strava. You can also see all your activities by directly visiting their website.
Step 6: Share Your Routes With Your Friends And Get Popular:
You can not get famous or popular overnight. It always takes time to reach a certain popularity. You can try these ways to get popular, giving you a fun experience using Strava and riding.
You should follow your friends/ family and encourage them to download the app for health benefits. Follow other people who follow you back and give Kudos(Strava’s way of giving likes).
Go on the explore tab and join cycling groups and compare your scores with them. Join different Strava challenges and compete with your friends to see who gets on top of the leaderboard.
One of the reasons why Strava is so popular with the cycling community is the involvement of the people. The more you get involved with the community you will have a pleasing experience using the app.
You can also share your scores and routes to other social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram so that other people know you are using Strava.
Step 7: Join A Cycling Community:
The most fun and intriguing part of this Strava app are you can experience community riding. If you want to experience riding in a community, join a group as soon as you are done with the basic features.
You can create a private group to see how many daily miles your friends have covered. You can have a healthy competition with your friends and try to beat their score by traveling more miles than your friends. You can also create your own crew, compare your mileage with your friends, and share the distance on social media.
Even if you are not riding with your friends, you can motivate each other by sending messages and greetings, encouraging each other to ride, and not skipping a day.
Step 8: Keep A Record Of Your Progress:
You can keep a record of your mileage with a premium subscription. The premium subscription allows you to measure your heart rate after you travel a certain distance.
All these features are available on a premium subscription, and you can set and tune your mileage and compare them monthly with your heart rate. This feature will give the rider a clear idea of the miles he/she should cover each month to stay fit and healthy.
You can also check your heart rate after the completion of each mile. These features will also help you find the miles you need to reach your maximum heart rate.
Step 9: Turn On Your GPS And Start Riding :
It is very important to turn on your GPS system on your smartphone to keep track of your progress. On top of all the reasons that are discussed, your safety is one of the reasons why you should use Strava while cycling.
You can turn the GPS on from the app, and your friends and family can keep track of where you are heading.
God Forbid if you ever need any help or are in trouble while cycling on a wonderful morning, friends/ family can always reach out to you within a matter of time or send reinforcements to rescue you.
Strava Premium Or Free Account: Which One Do You Need For Cycling?
You can download Strava Free from your smartphone, which is available on Android and IOS. The free version includes some great features, which are enough for a beginner or a pro cyclist to get accustomed to it and make the most of the app.
However, there is a premium version where you must sign up and pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee. You need to know the amount you will pay for the premium account.
Strava no longer has different packages for different users. The only subscription they are offering to its users is $6 per month for an annual subscription.
However, a new user can use the app free for the first two months, but the condition is to sign up for a whole year. Unfortunately, the free users will no longer get the privilege to use the popular features like viewing the leaderboards or the route building, but they will be able to see the top 10 leaders on the board.
Strava App Vs. Other Cycling Apps: Which Is The Best One For Cycling?
There are many similar apps that people use for cycling and fitness purposes. Some notable apps that are an alternative to Strava are Zwift, Cyclemeter GPs, map my ride Gps Cycling, etc. You can always get confused about whether to use the Strava app for cycling or these mentioned applications.
The Strava app is undoubtedly the best for cycling and tracking your routes. Strava offers many unique features for your health benefits and is the most fun app to use while you are cycling down the mountains.
Here are some of the features of the Strava Apps that are very interesting to use and give you a mindblowing cycling experience like no other application:
Segment:
The most popular feature of Strava is the segment where you can name the road and create a route for your desired cycling location. Other users or cyclists can try and beat your route by completing it as fast as possible.
This is indeed a healthy competition and fun too. But remember, try not to get too hooked and obsessed. Otherwise, speeding may cause an accident. This segment is rated from easiest to hardest and is ranked as 4,3,2,1.
KOM Or QOM:
‘King of the Mountain or Queen of the Mountain’ is the title of the fastest rider on the leaderboard. It does not have to be the highest peak of the route but rather the fastest rider to complete the route.
The fastest rider will be crowned as the King of the mountain/ Queen of the mountain until and unless a new rider beats his score. It is fun to engage with your audiences/ followers or friends. Do not make this an obsession or a dangerous habit; risk yourself serious injury.
Achievement:
Your achievements will be rewarded as trophies or medals, which you can share with your followers and social media accounts. Achievements are usually presented by trophies, medals, or KOM/QOM.
As I have told you, as soon as you update your ride on Strava, it will be compared with other users. Trophies are given when you stand in the top 10 of a segment, and medals are usually given when you achieve the best three completion times for a specific segment.
FlyBy:
The feature Flyby helps you to see if you have crossed paths with any of your followers or the person you follow. It all depends on your privacy setting whether you are allowing your location to be seen or not.
This will help you connect with your fellow mates and create a good network with your followers and those you follow.
Suffer Score:
This Strava feature helps you to compare your heart rate with the maximum heart rate you reach after completing your route.
This will help you figure out the number of miles you should cover or the speed you should travel to reach your maximum heart rate. This feature is only available with the premium subscription.
Leaderboard:
The app has a leaderboard where you can see your friend’s score and compare the score with yours. This will motivate you to head out for a good cycling ride and encourage you to beat your friends and reach on top of the leaderboard.
Even if you are feeling lazy or no matter how the weather is, you will automatically prepare to go out and beat your friend’s score and see your name climbing on top of the leaderboard.
Related Questions:
Does Strava Really Work For Cycling?
If your question is whether the app will track down your routes, record your data and show your location on the GPS tracker, the answer is Yes! Strava is used by millions of users worldwide to track and record their progress and share the data online with other users.
Not only this, Strava will show your speed, distance, and routes while you are riding. This is a very user-friendly app, and you will get used to it quickly if you go through the article properly and follow the guidelines.
How Do I Map A Ride On Strava For Cycling?
It is easy and simple to map your ride on Strava for cycling and other activities. Click on the icon of the Strava Apps, and you can find a route icon. You will see a plus sign in the right corner by clicking on the route icon.
Press the plus sign, and a workout session is created. Here, you can position the map however you like and start mapping your ride.
Does Strava Give You Turn-By-Turn Directions During Cycling?
Strava App’s navigation system is very accurate, and here is how you can get turn-by-turn directions on the app. If you have already created your route, by clicking my routes on the app dashboard, you will get navigation while cycling.
The Strava app will also guide you back to the starting point. To receive the navigation to go back to the starting point, click on the Reroute icon, and you will be guided back to the point you started your ride.
Is Strava Better Than MapMyRide?
A lot of people ask the question of whether mapmyride is better than Strava. I will do you a favor by simply breaking down the reasons Strava App is better.
Strava App is very user-friendly, unlike any other app. You can instantly record your route while cycling; if you use mapmyride, it takes a while to record the activity. Not only that, you have to press twice to record the activity.
Strava is the friendliest app in terms of its looks, graphics, and battery life. Many users widely recommend the app for showing the best time and motivating the users with different trophies and badges.
Mapmyride has a similar feature, but it is very complex, and instead of showing the best time, the app shows the number of times a user crosses the route.
Final Verdict:
Strava App is hugely recommended for all fitness lovers and cyclists who would love to travel and work out with some fun features. This is a fascinating app to use, and it helps you connect with new people with similar interests and keep track of your friends.
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