Singletrack ROOM 101

All walks of life have a Room 101 into which they can throw the daft, self-defeating and just plain annoying, and the bike industry is no different. In this spread we invite you to suggest the items, concepts or even people from the bike world that you think deserve to be kicked down the cellar steps that lie beyond the door to Room 101. Our Judge Mark will preside over your case and sentence your topic accordingly

WORDS BY MARK ALKER & CONTRIBUTORS

Applicant: Croxy

Submission: Strava

Argument: It’s the be-all and end-all of ALL rides. I go out with my mates and it’s ‘I proper smashed that last section, I’d better see how I did on Strava’. NO! Cut that shit out right now, there is no need. If you’re that bothered, then why not piss off on your own and ‘smash your KOMs’ or whatever the hell it is. Include it, before I kill my friends.

Mark’s Judgement

Ah, Strava! That polarising modern technological phenomenon. I’m with you Croxy – I hate Strava. I hate what it does to the people you ride with. I hate how it turns social rides into competitions. I hate how it promotes trail conflict and does nothing to help our access rights causes.

But then I loved how I used an eBike to ‘steal’ five KOMs from a bunch of local ‘athletes’. I also loved how it pretty much on a subconscious level shaved five minutes off my ride commute (not that I commute by bike on anywhere near a regular basis). A friend uses Strava to simply log her rides while still remaining one of the most social riding companions I know.