Available Now: New & Improved Strava Cycling app for Android + Join the Specialized Classic Climbing Challenge

The latest version of Strava Cycling for Android is fast, fresh, fun and ready for you to download or update now. Strava Run for Android coming soon!

GET MORE OUT OF YOUR RIDES

This latest release of Strava Cycling for Android focused on improving performance, polishing the look and feel and adding more user controls. Features include:

MORE STATS

• Monitor your performance, climb the leaderboards and earn achievements like Q/KOMs (Queen and King of the Mountain) and PRs (Personal Record).
• Enjoy more ride analysis and full map view from the Ride Detail page.
• See all time and year-to-date stats from the Profile page.

MORE CONTROL

• Pause and resume rides with ease.
• Easily make edits to your Profile and Settings pages.
• Title your activity and change your activity type to run, hike, ski and more. Your changes will automatically sync to Strava.com.

MORE ACCESS

• Ability to login via Facebook Connect.
• Faster location initialization and faster upload.
• See all of your recent activities from all devices – not just those recorded with your Android.

A Classic Challenge from Specialized
The Compete tab just got even more exciting. Riders, how much do you think you can climb in 45 days? It’s almost time to find out. Introducing  A Classic Climbing Challenge, brought to you by Specialized. You’ll be tasked to attack an extreme climbing goal from March 15 to April 30 for your chance to earn a custom Specialized & Strava water bottle and surprise finisher gift, not to mention the gargantuan bragging rights. Join now and check back soon for more details. Runners, your next challenge is right around the corner. Stay tuned and get ready!

Quick Tip

We’ve made some changes to the layout of our site.  You can still access your profile in one quick step – just click your name in the top right corner.

Strava Interview with Matt Carnal

Who is Matt Carnal? That was the question on many Strava minds after he finished the Ride Base Mile Blast with nearly 1000 miles separating him from the rest of the pack. Matt Carnal from Tulsa, Oklahoma was on a tear in January, riding an average of 133 miles per ride. Strava caught up with Matt to get the scoop on this extraordinary display of athleticism.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Occupation? What do you like to do in your free time?

I was born and raised in Kansas. Kansas will always be home to me! I love the wide open spaces that the open prairie brings me, and I find that freedom and openness when I ride.
I currently reside in Tulsa, OK where I work as an Endurance Coach (specializing in cycling and triathlon) with a biology, chemistry and economics background.
In my free time I like to, well ride my bike! On a serious note, I enjoy reading, playing with my dog AJ (Action Jackson), listening to live or new music, traveling and pretty much anything active when I’m not riding my bike.

How long have you been riding?

I have been riding bikes since I was a kid.  I can recall racing around on my paper route when I was 8 and have been riding ever since.
I really got into cycling after one of my 8 surgeries (knees, shoulders and elbows) in 2004, and started training in 2006 when I arrived in Tulsa.

How did you hear about Strava?

One of my athletes mentioned the Rapha Festive 500, so I decided to join Strava and give it a try.  I started a few days late, but planned it out, worked hard and took 3rd place!  I’m new to Strava and I plan on using Strava in the future for finding extra motivation.

You surpassed the Base Mile Blast pack by nearly 1,000 miles. How did you pull this off?

Time management and a lot of help from the following people: Jim Biega (Ventura, CA), Steve LeChaine (Atascadero, CA), my mom and my friends helped keep me motivated. The Base Mile Blast arrived just as I was starting my first block of training in preparation for Solo RAAM (Race Across America) 2013. When the Challenge was posted I thought: This is a great opportunity to see what I have for RAAM and build a huge base for upcoming training. I knew from the cyclists out there I was going to have to go big if I wanted to reach my goals, so I set two goals: 1) ride 100 miles per day and 2) finish #1. The first day I rode 212 miles and only had the second or third most distance logged. This motivated me even more because I know the journey ahead of me is going to be an extremely difficult one. Throughout this challenge, I paid attention to 1) sleep/recovery 2) nutrition and 3) training. I believe these things were able to keep me physically and mentally solid for the bigger challenge ahead, so I went for it.

Did you set any new personal records? Do you have a personal goal(s) set you’re trying to reach?

Yes. I did set a new personal record: I hit a new record of 3,347 miles in 25 days. In 2010 when I rode across the country towing a BOB trailer, I averaged 94 miles a day with 30-50lbs in tow.  I covered 7,000 miles in 75 days over a time period of 101 days if you include recovery. My goal for 2012 on the bike is to try and cover 25,000-30,000 miles before December 31, 2012.  In addition, I would like to qualify for RAAM, Race the Divide, local races, time trials and as many double century’s as possible. On top of mileage and races, I would like to finish the year at 5.0 w/kg at FTP.

What bike did you ride to compete in the Base Mile Blast?

My BMC (RaceMaster SLX0) cracked the last week of December as I was heading to California, leaving me without a bike. I will miss that bike. [See side photo of Matt and his BMC riding long in Colorado.] I rode a “rented” Specialized Tarmac from Open Air Bicycles out of Ventura, CA for rides from Jan 6-22. Once I was back in Tulsa I rode my Felt Fixie 48/16 gear ratio.

What’s the biggest motivational factor when your ride?

I have a lot of motivators when I ride — comments people have stated, such as ‘I’m just an average cyclist’ — fuel for the fire.  Race goals and time trial goals also motivate me.  However, right now the largest motivator is to bring the RAAM Champion back to the USA.  An American has not won solo RAAM since 2003 and I would like to see that change. When I’m on rides I think about certain quotes, such as ‘victory loves preparation,’ and ‘doing something is much more fulfilling than talking about doing something.’  Sometimes in our life we need to find the time to think, do, or move.  In January I chose to DO.

Going the Distance: Base Mile Blast Results

From January 6-31, we challenged runners and riders all over the world to put on as many miles as possible. Our expectations were high, but we were blown away by what was accomplished.

1,201 runners participated in the Run Base Mile Blast, running a total of 63,582 miles. That’s more than 2x around the earth in under 1 month! 7,020 cyclists participated in the Ride Base Mile Blast, riding 2,506,492 miles. That’s more than 5 trips from the earth to the moon AND back.

Runners and riders set personal distance goals for January and worked hard to meet or beat them. Some made it to the top 100, some set PRs, while others focused on consistency. No matter the approach, we all suffered. Of the Challenge participants, we’d like to acknowledge a small handful for their extraordinary feats:

First Runner to Reach 125 Miles

• Kathy Davies -Fremont, CA
• Gerry Hoyte – Harsewinkel, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Congrats! Kathy and Gerry have earned themselves a Strava phone sleeve and run cap!

First Rider to Reach 1000 Miles

• Jennifer Wheeler – Tucson, AZ
• Matthew Carnal – Tulsa, OK

Congrats! Jennifer and Matt have earned themselves a Strava phone sleeve and socks!

Most Miles Run

• Jojo Reuland – San Francisco, CA – 252 miles
• Gerry Hoyte – Harsewinkel, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany – 333 miles

Congrats! Jojo and Gerry have earned themselves a Strava tech tee!

Most Miles Ridden

• Katie Evans – San Francisco, CA – 1,479 miles
• Matthew Carnal – Tulsa, OK – 3, 347 miles

Congrats! Joanie and Matt and have earned themselves a Strava jersey!

Congratulations to all the Base Mile Blast participants for their extraordinary accomplishments. Check the Compete tab soon for upcoming challenges.

Segment Explorer for iPhone, Points in the Red and More Sharing!

Segment Explore for iPhone is Here
We’re thrilled to bring Segment Explore to the Strava Cycling and Strava Run apps for iPhone. Visiting a new city for the weekend? Use Segment Explore to find the most popular and competitive segments to ride or run and see how you stack up against the local crowd. The updated Strava Cycling for Android and new Strava Run for Android apps are on their way. Stay tuned!

Points in the Red for Premium Members
Premium members, get even more insight into your Suffer Score. Points in the Red is the portion of your Suffer Score that you earned in your Zone 4 and Zone 5 heart rate zones. Now get credit for your seriously intense workouts! Learn more about Suffer Score and other Premium features.

Easily Share Your Runs and Rides
Check out the Facebook, Twitter and Google+ sharing options on your run and ride pages on Strava.com. Now when you share your activities to your various networks, they’ll see an all new view of where you went and how you did. Sharing via mobile coming soon!

More Improvements for Runners
Good news! New improvements to the run experience are rife on Strava.com. You can now quickly search for runs that fit your criteria and easily create running clubs from the Explore tab. In addition, you now have the ability to set your default activity sport to running or cycling right from your profile.

Create Casual, Racing and Company Clubs
Club owners can now choose from a variety of club types including Casual, Racing, Company, and more.  If you already have a club on Strava, be sure to update your details.  Happy running and riding!

The Base Mile Blast is Now Finished
Congratulations to all those who participated in January’s Base Mile Blast. More than 8,000 runners and cyclists put in more than 2.5 million miles in just under one month! Stay tuned for the Base Mile Blast wrap-up and results.

Strava Run for iPhone Is Here, Get Ready for New Challenges in 2012!

We’re ringing in 2012 with some exciting news: Strava Run for iPhone is now available to download from iTunes!  Get your hands on this free app and start the new year with an incredible new training partner.

Highlights include:

• FREE unlimited run uploads
• Detailed run stats including distance, pace, time, splits and full map view
• Segment leaderboards and ability to earn achievements for outstanding performances
• View of your recent activities from all devices in your Feed
• All time and year-to-date stats on your Profile
• Ability to change your activity type to ride, hike, ski and more to easily keep track of your cross-training

There’s more!  The new and improved Strava Cycling app for iPhone is also here, and this latest update makes it easier to track your cross training, giving you the ability to change your rides to runs, complete with run-specific stats.

If you like what you see, please rate the Strava Run and Strava Cycling apps for iPhone and help us take them both to the next level.  For our Android users, thank you for your patience!  Strava Run and Strava Cycling for Android are on their way.

GET READY FOR THE BASE MILE BLAST

Resolutions abound at this time of year, and what better way to keep them than a new Strava Challenge?  Accumulate as many miles as possible from January 6-31 with the Base Mile Blast.  Join the challenge for cyclists or the challenge for runners, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, try your hand at both.  It may be winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to slow down.  Set your personal goal and see how you stack up – now is the time to build your foundation!  Surprises are in store for our most dedicated athletes.

We are excited to be transitioning our event format to a new Strava Challenges format for 2012, retiring Strava Events from the Explore section of Strava. New challenges, including mileage-, elevation-, segment-based and more, will be introduced all year long to keep runners and riders alike engaged in healthy competition.

KUDOS TO ALL KOM CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS

Congratulations to everyone who pushed themselves to the limit in the 2011 Studio Velo KOM Challenge.  Check out our full recap here.  Here’s to a great year of training ahead!