Strava’s year in road cycling recap

On Wednesday, Strava released their year in sport. The data shows pretty much what most people knew, more people are cycling than ever. But the difference is it’s being spread in various different areas, with surges in e-bikes and gravel, notably.

Whether it’s running, mountain biking or gravel, a whopping 52 percent of athletes uploaded trail activities in 2022. Interestingly, trail activities are becoming popular as a social activity: trail activities are 55 per cent more likely to be done in groups.

Athletes started 2022 on a high note

In Canada and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere it can be cold in January, but that doesn’t seem to deter folks, especially when it comes to working out in groups. According to Strava, it’s the most popular month for setting goals.

Group rides on the increase

In the first month of 2022, cyclists and runners who went out in groups recorded 87 per cent and 78 per cent more active time in groups than by themselves.

The rise of e-bikes

Although the amount of cyclists riding e-bikes increased 26 per cent this year, Strava posted that growth isn’t entirely evenly distributed in age groups. It seems older athletes are much more likely than younger ones to be using e-bikes. According to Strava, Europeans are the biggest fans of e-bikes.

Long rides ftw

People are loving the longer rides. In 2022, the amount of cyclists that had at least one 100 mile ride (160 km) increased by 22 per cent across the globe. Even those living in metric countries still went for the non-metric century as a goal.

Less commuting during pandemic

As can be imagined, less people were riding their bikes to work, with so many people working from home. But according to Strava, it’s slowly coming back. In 2022, two years after the outbreak of COVID-19, amount of cyclists in the world commuting on Strava is on the rise again, especially among women.

Paris leads the way in riders using their bike to get to work and do errands, with a 97 per cent increase. Although European cities are leading the way, Boston and Tokyo are right up there with them.

To put it in perspective, two out of three bike rides in Paris and London are commutes.

Not all cities saw an uptick to pre-pandemic levels, however, despite many people returning to the office and ditching work from home, some cities aren’t quite back at the same amount of bike commuting. Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon have all seen bike commutes on Strava decreased compared to 2019.

If you’re a Strava user, look for your personalized Year In Sport on Dec. 15.

Fast facts

– More than 7 billion activities shared on Strava
– 40 million activities uploaded per week
– Over 30 million Segments
– Over 3,000 professional athletes on Strava
– 9.9 billion Kudos given between athletes last year
– Over 10 million photos and videos shared per week