Garmin Virtual Partner to help get Strava KOMs

pprendeville

Came across this really useful feature which unfortunately has been stopped at Strava's request. Is there any other sites that provide a similar feature?

Lusk_Doyle

What loser would use this? Pathetic IMHO.

pprendeville

Me. :P

Lusk_Doyle

Objection! Leading question!

doozerie

The new Strava iOS/Android app gives an audio alert when you encounter a segment, apparently, so Strava seem keen to encourage the competitive spirit on the road. I foresee the roads getting a lot more noisy.

The next upgrade will presumably have a little virtual DS who pops out and screams in your ear for the entire duration of every segment.

pprendeville

This looks like it should do the job. For me to get my segment onto my Garmin I have to do the following (I'm not a premium Strava customer):

1. Find the segment I want to ride on Strava.
2. Copy the segment URL into the Strava KOM URL box on the raceshape.com homepage.
3. Download the course file manually by clicking the popup arrow to the right of the date of any one of the riders on the leaderboard.
4. Copy this course file into the "New Files" folder on the Garmin SD card and then once I switch on the Garmin it is there under "Courses" albeit with a jumbled name (easy to rename). If for some reason I wanted to go back and find it again on the SD card it has been moved to SD card Courses folder.

Probably multiple other ways of getting the segment onto your device especially for premium Strava subscribers. Must give the virtual partner a test at the weekend.



Better instructions here maybe. http://blog.raceshape.com

Lusk_Doyle

That's an awful lot of work to distract you from the enjoyment of the cycle. Strava KOMs are happy side effects of hard riding. They shouldn't be targets. Right Beasty?

Lusk_Doyle

doozerie wrote: »

The new Strava iOS/Android app gives an audio alert when you encounter a segment, apparently, so Strava seem keen to encourage the competitive spirit on the road. I foresee the roads getting a lot more noisy.

The next upgrade will presumably have a little virtual DS who pops out and screams in your ear for the entire duration of every segment.

Like Marc Madiot when the FDJ fella won a stage in the TDF a few years ago. Enough to drive you mad. No wonder they pull out their radio ear pieces.

Edit: Thibault Pinot, I think it was.

Koobcam

Could you not just reset to a new lap at the start of the climb and then see how you got on at the top?

pprendeville

The good thing about this is you can be brought directly to the segment and the virtual partner then acts as a pacer for you as such telling you how far ahead/behind you are and how far there is to go or so that's my interpretation of it anyway. Will try it in the morning on a few of your KOMs smog permitting

Koobcam

pprendeville wrote: »

The good thing about this is you can be brought directly to the segment and the virtual partner then acts as a pacer for you as such telling you how far ahead/behind you are and how far there is to go or so that's my interpretation of it anyway. Will try it in the morning on a few of your KOMs smog permitting

don't take them all..

Zorba

So how does this exactly work, i've downloaded a segment to my garmin, so say off i go on my spin tomorrow, does the garmin virtual partner kick in automatically when i get to the said segment and help me along or do i have to switch him on meself ?

Actually just found the answer here http://blog.raceshape.com

Looks like my beloved garmin has just turned into a weapon of torture !!!

Actually could u have a few segments in there and use them as u go through your spin ?

doozerie

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Like Marc Madiot when the FDJ fella won a stage in the TDF a few years ago. Enough to drive you mad. No wonder they pull out their radio ear pieces.

Edit: Thibault Pinot, I think it was.

Or Bjarne Riis. The special "Sullen Riis" edition of the app would have him throw your bike in the ditch if you don't get the KoM on the segment.

no1murray

I used this today, works a treat. Just select the course segment befour you get to it. Cheers for the heads up on the site.

nolinejudge

no1murray wrote: »

I used this today, works a treat. Just select the course segment befour you get to it. Cheers for the heads up on the site.

Did you get the KOM?

no1murray

http://www.strava.com/activities/124680681 I got it alright. I had it already but knocked 15 seconds off it.Mahon falls (its on the sean kelly) will get a lash next week, im sick of being second.

Zorba

Zorba wrote: »

Actually could u have a few segments in there and use them as u go through your spin ?

Looks like on the 500 anyway u can only have one segment at a time. So i'm thinking can you switch off a segment when done and switch on the next segment before u get to it ?

Gonna give it a go tomorrow or later today should i say.

pprendeville

Same on the 800, just start a new course after you've finished the previous once. Give them names that make them easy to identify obviously or assign numbers at the beginning.

pprendeville

no1murray wrote: »

http://www.strava.com/activities/124680681 I got it alright. I had it already but knocked 15 seconds off it.Mahon falls (its on the sean kelly) will get a lash next week, im sick of being second.

You fairly annihilated that climb. :eek:

Stokolan

no1murray wrote: »

Mahon falls (its on the sean kelly) will get a lash next week, im sick of being second.

You'll have to put a fair effort in to knock Hugh off top spot. That man is an animal on the bike.

Zorba

pprendeville wrote: »

Same on the 800, just start a new course after you've finished the previous once. Give them names that make them easy to identify obviously or assign numbers at the beginning.

Yeah tried it today with 2 different courses and i just stopped one course when done and started the other, assume u could have any amount of courses in the garmin ?

pprendeville

Successful with the attempts?

Zorba

pprendeville wrote: »

Successful with the attempts?

Err well the 2 segments i used it on today are one's i'll never get the kom on, unless i cheat, but...... i did knock 30 odd seconds off my previous personal best on both of them so i'd have to say my virtual partner did help a lot.

Did he/she help u out at all ?

PCX

I just had a look at that site. Unless I misunderstood it you can pick the ride of anyone on the leader board to be your virtual partner. Not just the KOM. So you can pick someone a few places higher than you and aim to beat them.

Might be more realistic for us mere mortals. Also means that you can pick a mate and try to beat their placing on all your regular segments

no1murray

Im beginning to love racing my virtual buddy. I think I will call him frank. He is a bit of a badass.

Hugh is a beast. I spend the summer chasing him around the dungarvan league race. I am eternally second.

pprendeville

30secs is massive. Fair play. I hope to head out on Saturday morning and do a 3k climb that will be really testing to get a KOM on. Reading these posts is giving me a great kick. I made a balls of my attempt at the weekend and approached the climb from the wrong side and was wondering when the VP was going to start. It promptly just went to course completed when I got to the top. :mad:

Good idea actually, you don't have to aim for the top guys and can challenge ppl lower down the leaderboard. Unlikely I'll ever beat Roamain Bardet or Robert Gesinks KOMs on Miaofengshan.

GoTilUBlow

Interesting, but I think I'll stick to the racing.

pprendeville

Might be more appropriate to change to title of this thread to "How to improve your KOM times on Strava with the help of Garmin Virtual Partner". Mods, can this be done?

Another tip on that website is to turn on the elevation profile and adjust the axes accordingly so that you can have a good idea of how much is left in the climb and the upcoming gradients (out psyche the hill). Good for those climbs you're not familiar with. http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/how-to-use-your-garmin-edge-elevation-screen-to-climb-hills-more-effectively/

manwithaplan

You need to come home, Phil. Watching you search ever harder for a way to satisfy your need to compete is getting painful. It's like Heart of Darkness - the horror, the horror...

I'll be your virtual training buddy up the Nag's Head like the old days and everything will be OK.

Lusk_Doyle

manwithaplan wrote: »

You need to come home, Phil. Watching you search ever harder for a way to satisfy your need to compete is getting painful. It's like Heart of Darkness - the horror, the horror...

I'll be your virtual training buddy up the Nag's Head like the old days and everything will be OK.

Exactly! This new university thing has gone to your head!

pprendeville

Would you ever consider quitting your job and moving you and the family over here to Beijing for 10 weeks so we can get in some good altitude training? If we kept going west we'd eventually get to the Himalays and could set a new record in KOM's. Don't think too many of them have been ridden.

no1murray

http://www.strava.com/activities/126617577

Virtual partner strikes again.

ford2600

no1murray wrote: »

http://www.strava.com/activities/126617577

Virtual partner strikes again.

What happened the Mahon Falls!

no1murray

ford2600 wrote: »

What happened the Mahon Falls!

Didnt have time for that spin tonight. Ill give it a crack next week.

ford2600

no1murray wrote: »

Didnt have time for that spin tonight. Ill give it a crack next week.

Only messing with you. Well done in Minane last week

no1murray

http://www.strava.com/activities/127065727
Its too easy.

lukegjpotter

How else are you supposed to become the "Most Feared Cyclist in <Insert town name here> on Strava"?

I'm the most feared cyclist (over 200 metres, downhill, with a tailwind) in Athlone on Strava.

Lusk_Doyle

lukegjpotter wrote: »

How else are you supposed to become the "Most Feared Cyclist in <Insert town name here> on Strava"?

I'm the most feared cyclist (over 200 metres, downhill, with a tailwind) in Athlone on Strava.

By cycling harder and faster than everybody else. Having a live prompt just isn't right in my mind. If you can't motivate yourself enough to ride harder without that then something is amiss. In my opinion.

Zorba

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

By cycling harder and faster than everybody else. Having a live prompt just isn't right in my mind. If you can't motivate yourself enough to ride harder without that then something is amiss. In my opinion.

I like to think of the virtual partner like this.....if i go out training with someone stronger than me i always find i seem to push myself that extra bit harder than i would on my own, i guess pride comes into play, but that's how i used the virtual partner, like a training buddy that is better than me and i have to do my best to keep up !