Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Bingo Cometh



This morning’s Strava log was blessed with an early morning attack by Marin’s strongest cyclists attempting to break the KOM northbound up Camino Alto.  The standing record of 4:09 has been official since July 8th of 2012.  Today at 5.15am, a crew of nine guys provided the lead out Marin’s newest super star, Mr. Bingo McKenzie.  The powerhouse peloton shaved 14 seconds off the KOM to an impressive 3 minutes 55 seconds.  But the ride itself was only half of the entertainment.

The first comment on Strava congratulating Bingo was from the former KOM himself, Peter Cracknell.  Bingo thanked Peter for his humbleness and also gave props to the lead-out which got him to the apex.  Some smack talk ensued with a challenge to Chris Phipps, another of the Bay Area’s most riders and owner of hundreds of well traveled KOMs, about targeting Chris’ White’s Hill record.  A dozen or so other cycling studs chimed in to congratulate Bingo or throw in a jab or two.

Then, Mr. Pancakes threw down the gauntlet.  He dared to introduce the age-old postulate that a KOM on Strava is not actually a KOM unless it is done in a solo effort.  This comment set off the masses in a debate of Bingo’s effort and, furthermore, the validity of any KOM on Strava given the various conditions present at the time of the ride.

As one commenter suggested, at a minimum, Bingo set the KOM for the number of comments received on a single ride.  Do enjoy the comment string yourselves, http://app.strava.com/activities/60093099#.

Most importantly, this KOM and subsequent commentary proves that Strava is here to stay.  If nothing else, Strava is the conduit for the community to come together, creating another layer of enjoyment for its users.

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