When I first joined Strava, I saw it as a useful training tool: a place to track my rides, monitor progress, and maybe connect with others who shared the same passion. Over time, though, the platform drifted into something very different—and not in a direction that works for me.The social layer became overwhelming. The feed was less about actual training and more about attention: endless comparisons, unnecessary competition, and a constant stream of “look at me” posts. At one point my timeline was full of things like “X walked their dog,” while meaningful rides were lost in the background noise. For those of us who ride outdoors year-round, it’s frustrating to be placed in the same context as people who only do indoor sessions, and then be told we’re “too slow” or “riding like kids.” That kind of judgment makes the space toxic rather than motivating.Because of this, I shifted to a private account two years ago, using Strava simply as a personal logbook. That would have been fine—except Strava started failing at the basics. Distances mis-recorded, times wrong, speeds unreliable. Once that happens, the core purpose of the platform—accurate tracking—falls apart. No amount of “likes,” leaderboards, or social gimmicks can compensate for bad data.For me, the conclusion was simple: I don’t need another social network. I need a reliable training tool. Strava used to be that, but somewhere along the way, it stopped. So I closed my account and moved on.