Strava Segment Madness

I did not set up the segment.  I did not want to participate in the segment.  I found myself looking at my results and wondering who was number on on the segment leader board list and then I was hooked.
There are not too many hills in here in SW Georgia, but one of them is near my job.  This segment is on the final approach to the ASU campus.  The grade is a measly .7% to 1.4% (54M to 64M) over a distance of about 2 KM.  The record was held by Edward Picolo at 4 minutes and 3 seconds.  When I started bike commuting in September 2012 I was generally tired at this point of my commute.  When I started using Strava in January 2013 I discovered the segment and I was a bit stronger in my endurance and I was always making an effort to finish strong up this hill.

Only 5 riders appear on the leader board since 2012.  I have been competing against my best efforts for a few months until yesterday when I decided that I was going to beat 4:03 on the segment. I finished at 3:48 and I was amazed at the segment mentality and how over time the segment game had slowly sucked me into training on this simple hill.  Of course now I will want to ride from Quincy Florida as Edward Picolo did and finish the segment and see how my legs are after a long ride and not just after my short bike commute.

I keep telling myself to slow down, but sometimes the need for speed just takes over in the morning ride to work.

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