The new user’s guide to Strava etiquette

Your Internet presence is often the first thing someone sees about you. It’s not uncommon for a new friend or colleague to see your Facebook page before seeing you in person. Strava is the social media of choice for lots of cyclists–it’s like Instagram, Twitter and your favourite exercise app combined, it’s one of the main avenues of communication and logging miles for lots of cyclists.

Exercise fanatics around the world are posting and letting their friends know what they’re doing to stay fit. As with all forms of social media, there are certain norms that emerge around their usage. Here are the five most important notes of Strava etiquette for the new user (and your guide to having more kudos than all of your friends).

Turn your GPS off when you’re done running or riding

No one likes to flag someone else’s run or ride, but sometimes you have to, as Strava relies on its community of athletes to monitor the leaderboard. It’s an easy mistake to make, but after a great (or maybe really bad) run or ride, the user can forget to turn their phone or GPS off. Once they start driving, the GPS is recording some very high speeds. They’re usually quickly flagged and removed, which is an easy fix, but nevertheless annoying.

Make sure your GPS is in the right mode

Lots of Strava users do a bunch of different activities–which is super awesome. But when you’re cycling, make sure your GPS is in cycling mode (and same goes for running or swimming). This allows for accurate segment stealing and post-ride statistics checks.

Riding to the bank is not a necessary activity post

It’s great to get exercise, even if it’s in the form of a 2-KM ride. But we’re not sure that a 10 minute bike ride is Strava-worthy.

Add pictures

If you want your followers to be supremely jealous of your ride, then snap a few pictures along the way and include them in your upload. This way, if it was a particularly great ride, you’ve got a photo diary of that day’s activity.

You don’t have to qualify every ride

Everyone has off days–your followers know this. It’s not necessary to let them know the eight reasons why your average speed was 2 kilometres per hour slower than normal.