Strava Stats

There were some interesting urban stories kicking around at the end of this week. First up there's this race that's planned in East London (of course) where your polo-playing hipster can take on a roadie and a BMXer in a mixed up urban race:

Talking of gritty East London (which is where a lot of stolen bikes end up) stats came form the Met Police about the kind of bikes that get stolen most. It turns out that mid-range popular bikes are most at risk as they are easy to sell on. Anyone with a Specialized Allez, that most common of almost-racer commuter bikes, should keep it totally locked at all times.

Statistics are great and there were more from Strava that show where everyone has ridden. It's interesting seeing the roads that are heavily ridden and all but I was most interested in the way the trail centres stand out as hotspots, where thousands of riders have smashed round the same trails.

This led me to more of the Strava Labs projects, which really show what they can do with all the data they collect on all those rides you log to see if you can beat your friends and people you have never met. My favourite is the Flyby project, which lets you, at the basic point, replay a ride that you did, and at its best lets you see all the other people riding the same trail at the same time. Slightly unnerving in a way it shows you people near you, but also cool to watch you racing people in (sped-up) real-time. The whole experience can make you waste hours.

No post on Monday due to bank holiday fun, so see you on Tuesday.
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