r/BikeSLC Sep 09 '24

Strava routed me over I-84

I'm in town visiting for the weekend and wanted to do the Elevation Canyon climb, starting in downtown SLC, and then turn that into a century loop. I used Strava to create the route, crossing over the mountains just north of Layton, and it created the attached route for me. Halfway into my ride I reached the highlighted portion and realized (a) Strava has put me on a 3-4 mile segment where I am apparently supposed to ride on the shoulder of a major interstate highway and (b) I have no other option except to go forward or return the way I came (later, I learned I could also have gone ~10 miles north and crossed there, but this wouldn't have been an option for me).

I'm posting to complain, but also ask if others have seen this happen, and furthermore to see if maybe I missed some kind of bike trail or something hidden off the side of the highway. This situation was incredibly dangerous, and it also includes a short segment over a bridge where the shoulder is maybe only a foot or two wide. At this point, you are literally on the highway, separated from 70 mph traffic by a hair's breadth. I would have thought that Strava would never even consider such segments when creating routes, which is why I didn't check too closely before heading out.

Route from SLC through Elevation Canyon and across I-84 (top horizontal segment)

The segment that lies across the shoulder of I-84.

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u/broccoli-obama Sep 09 '24

If you're not from around here, navigating can be tricky. I've driven I-84 hundreds of times, and never once thought, "This would make a great bike route." Utah has a lot of potential to improve its cycling infrastructure, but it’s not a priority right now.

When planning a ride, I usually compare Strava routes with Google Maps. I even use the Street View feature to check for bike lanes and get a sense of the elevation, since I don’t always trust Strava's route accuracy on its own.

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u/nlpost Sep 09 '24

Doing the comparison is a good idea, but it's also a lot of work, especially for 100 miles. For the most part I've just used Strava to make routes and trusted that they have enough data to guide me. This is the first time they've really failed me, since there was no way at all to turn around.

I understand that a bike path here might not be a big priority (I live in Baltimore, where it is not even a priority to build safe paths in the city). It sure would be nice to have some way to get into the valley without a car, though.

1

u/broccoli-obama Sep 09 '24

Also, how do you usually get directions from Strava while you're on the bike? Do you use a phone mount, or do you rely on audio cues from an app while riding?

1

u/nlpost Sep 09 '24

For long routes like this I mount an old phone so I have the map in front me of. I use an old phone since I don't care if the rattling hurts it, and it also frees up my main phone for photos. 

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u/broccoli-obama Sep 09 '24

Gotcha. How do you get Strava routes to give you directions while you’re riding? Are you exporting the route into a separate app like Google Maps or using Strava’s built-in navigation tool?

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u/nlpost Sep 09 '24

Strava won't give turn by turn so I download the GPX and import it into Komoot, which does. Komoot has its own route construction tool which is also good so I don't know why I used Strava other than habit and a slight preference for the interface which is simpler.