For those of us obsessed with our Strava stats, intent on climbing up the leaderboards, Strava has just released its data for 2018. Their top statistic is that 8.7 billion kilometres were ridden worldwide over the course of the year, which equals the distance between Earth and Pluto!
Despite this, most UK ‘athletes’ only managed 34.1 rides during 2018 (that’s about one outing every 10 days). Does that make you feel better if you didn’t quite manage to achieve all your cycling goals this year? And don’t forget the old adage that if it didn’t happen on Strava, it didn’t happen at all, so not recording your workout is no excuse.
True to stereotype, Yorkshire men and women were the toughest cyclists in England, managing the longest rides at an average of 35.9 km per outing. But Lincolnshire riders were the fastest (23.6kph) - perhaps due to the pan flat fenlands and some timely tailwinds?
However, their kudos paled into insignificance when compared to the Northern Irish who easily topped all the other UK countries in terms of speed and distance- who knew? Londoners ride most frequently out of all regions in the UK but that’s maybe not so surprising given the high level of congestion in the capital.
The good news is that cycling commutes worldwide increased by 42% on last year which Strava estimates offset 660 million kg of carbon dioxide - a stat that’s certainly deserving of kudos. Altogether there are now more than 36 million users in 195 countries indicating that Strava’s popularity has travelled far beyond its US roots.
Gareth Mills, UK Country Manager at Strava said: “As we hit 2 billion activities uploaded from the community, one thing that stands out especially is the importance of social exercise. Our data shows that sociability dramatically improves motivation - joining a club, setting a goal and exercising in a group - all boost activity. Cyclists who set goals were 15.1% more active in 2018.”
Another insight from this year’s report is that people who engage in more than one sporting activity exercise more than twice as much. But it’s not all hard work, cyclists like to indulge after a ride, with coffee, beer and cake being mentioned hundreds of thousands of times.
Merry Christmas from the Strava artists of London
Perhaps most surprisingly, Box Hill in Surrey is the most popular segment in the world. Box HiIl, famously used for the 2012 London Olympics, is a gentle 4% climb over a mild 4.3km reaching the giddy heights of 204m. Come on guys it’s time to broaden your horizons - there’s a whole Strava world out there!
Read the statistics in detail here.
