Garmin and Strava ....

Well on Sunday we got a Garmin 200, a simple low cost GPS and signed up to the free Strava site..
The Garmin 200 a simple easy to work GPS and thats all i wanted from it, I dont want a map reader or all the bells that come with the top end Garmins. Also Strava, Every man and his gran with an ego has been doing it for the last few years, You up load your loops you have done and you can find timed sections and race others if thats your bag. For me on sunday i had a look, spotted that the local hill coming in to my village is a timed road section so rolled out and turned round and had a crack at it and see if my Garmin and strava was set-up right, Got home to find i just did it in the fastest time ever.. Well it must of fired up the last quick guy as within a few days he made his next ride hit the hill and took it back by.. 1 second! lol. Since then i have been just having a ride and not Strava hunting, if i go through a timed section then great but im not huntng them out right now, so a trip to the local town and back the other day i went through a timed section and once again i was KOM on a another road section, Last night we headed off road with it, it took a few miles for the GPS to kick in, but it was super windy and wet and i put this down to the weather that the gps did not work right away, by time the GPS was working my back brake had gone and the lever was to the bars, so just went for a short wet mellow spin, When i got home i see i got my first off road KOM on a dh red section down at haldon.

So what are my thoughts on the Garmin and Strava.. 3 KOM fastest times in my first week..must be good right..

Im not a fan of Strava off road, It does make you race sections unless you do like i do and just ride and if i hit a section then i have, but with the world watching this just makes you look like you were going for it and not that fast, if you do strava hunt and hit race pace i just find it kills the flow and the fun of the ride. I only do a few events a year and for my sponsors and myself its no longer about the win, its meeting new and old riders from back in the day, being a good ambassador for my sponsors and showing how much fun you can have. So racing the local trails not that great for me as i want ot have fun, make it looka nd feel fun, As for the garmin on the road and Strava im a fan, I was never that big of a fan of time trials even when i raced elite xc, But the strava makes you push hard and the easy to read Garmin makes you want get that extra 1 mph out of every dh and flat section, for me im a fan on the road and its great to see how far and high i have been, but as for off road on the trail, i can take it or leave it, plus with so many just having Strava app on a phone its not that accreat and so could race a time thats not 100% right. For the road for me its 2 thumbs up. off road.. not a massive fan but may as well record the ride.