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Good on ya Strava! something useful in the Real World!

Last Post 05/27/2014 05:21 PM by Joe Rockbottom. 8 Replies.

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Posts:173

05/20/2014 02:46 PM
This looks really interesting- "heat-mapping" actual routes cyclists use and then using that to lobby for better cycling ... http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-shed/cycle-life/Stravas-Plan-to-Revolutionize-Commuting.html I don't normally use my gps for commuting - too much trouble to download. but this makes me WANT to use it not for training feedback but for showing cities/counties/states where the cyclists are riding.

Posts:173

05/20/2014 03:17 PM
See the global heatmap ... http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#6/-120.90000/38.36000/blue/bike

Posts:824

05/20/2014 07:23 PM
Very cool. Not a Strava user, and will remain so, but I do like the information that can be gathered for dollar and safety purposes.

Posts:4499

05/20/2014 11:26 PM
Those heat maps are pretty cool...to see where Strava crowd hangs. For City planning it may be worth considering that 90%* doesn't use Strava so is 10% you capture representative? My read on Strava users is they might pick faster routes wheras the non crowd might pick slower, quieter streets. * I pulled that number out of my hat

Posts:3189

05/21/2014 01:12 AM
So, the city planners now know where all the Strava users go. Is this good or bad? This does not represent their target users, commuters, youth perhaps riding to school, folks getting out for some exercise. Ben

Posts:809

05/21/2014 11:18 AM
In our town, there are a couple of bike counters positioned at strategic points. Is this a perfect way to count cyclists? No. But better than the old way of doing it where on one single day out of each year, someone would stand there with a clipboard and count bikes. Are the heat maps a perfect representation of cycling patterns? Given that the user base is skewed towards recreational riders, no. But when people hear about this, many respond as CK_rider and see the potential. If nothing else, when I heard about it last week, I used it to plot a route for a short tour I'm doing this summer. It answered my main questions about a few roads: which are better than others for a route in an area where I am unfamiliar with the roads. I have to admit though that in many places I think the data represents only one or two uploads for a given section of road.

Posts:4499

05/21/2014 12:25 PM
Chinook - I actually use Google Streetview for plotting routes where I've never ridden. I'll assess type of road, amount of traffic, shoulder, etc. Great visual tool. It has yet to disappoint/surprise me.

Posts:444

05/21/2014 02:06 PM
I just discussed routes to get somewhere with a coworker. The first place I went was the Strava heat map, then google maps bike mode with trails enabled, then we looked at the street view.

Posts:173

05/27/2014 05:21 PM
I don't think strava users are too out of ordinary in town. We all want to get places the easiest or fastest way so. Any data on that will help. Like show showing people want touse busy roads because they are the fastest way to get somewhere . The trend I have noticed here is that when a new major roadies built, or rebuilt, they out in a bike path next to it and then make the shoulders skimpy so most cyclists are shunted to the bike path.. Except the ones used to riding wi traffic .. They still use the road that is now designed to be dangerous for cyclists because they don5 want to mix it up with path riders, walkers, runners, etc. If strava truly captured 10% of cyclists that would be hugeness-- 2 or 3 times order of magnitude than they do now with occasional surveys of only the roads they want to survey. Indeed, I have trouble convincing local road departments that certain roads are cycling Meccas. They are only out and about on weekdays an never see weekend crowds. When I told a local office that over 500 cyclists use a certain rural roads on Saturdays and Sundays -- probably 10 times the number of cars on the road, he scoffed at me and said I was