Chris Carmichael
How Strava Is Changing the Way We Ride
A recent convert explains the allure. Carmichael Training Systems
Look Beyond the Leaderboard: Racing against your buddies is great, but many of these sites can give you training feedback you can鈥檛 get any other way. 鈥淕PS data, especially altitude and elevation gain and loss, can be helpful for interpreting data such as power and heart rate, because it provides context,鈥 says Carmichael. And when you鈥檙e on the road, the exten颅sive libraries of training rides can come in handy. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a great way to tap into local knowledge for routes,鈥 says Carmichael.
Lynda Wallenfels
LW Coaching
Stick to Your Training Plan: There鈥檚 a reason successful athletes pick a handful of events and then spend most of their time training. If you鈥檙e always competing, you never build a solid base or recover. 鈥淭he danger is gunning for KOMs every time you ride or getting sucked into a challenge like accumulating 100,000 feet of climbing in 10 days,鈥 Wallenfels explains. 鈥淚t throws off the flow of a training plan and eventually decreases results.鈥
Allen Lim
Skratch Labs
Diversify Your 颅Feedback: 鈥淣o single site fits every need,鈥 says Lim. is good for comparing your performance鈥攖o yourself and others. is good for tracking athletes in real time. is good for collecting data and keeping a training diary. As with any good tool set, you might need a few different sites and apps to get the best results. And if you鈥檙e serious about training, Lim 颅advises, supplement with a coach. 鈥淣o social media can ever replace the feedback and daily interaction of good coaching.鈥