Explain it to me quickly: why are runners and riders freaking out about a feud between Strava and Garmin?
Josh, there’s a lot of commentary online from runners and cyclists over Strava suing Garmin,I am a runner, but I must confess I run to get away from the world – not participate in more online discourse,What’s it all about?The Guardian’s journalism is independent,We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link,Learn more.
Miles, Strava is the go-to app for runners and cyclists to track their exercise.It has a lot of social features that allow users to race against the times of other users in a sort of social competition, and find popular places to exercise.It’s the Instagram for exercise – if you feel like boasting about your workouts to the world.You can track your workouts with your phone and Strava’s internal GPS tracking, but a lot of people are wearing fitness watches because they think they are more accurate.That’s where Garmin comes in.
Strava allows Garmin fitness tracking watches to record workout data on its app via its own platform, Garmin Connect.It’s been a fairly good partnership for both companies for several years, but Strava is now taking Garmin to court in the US, alleging Garmin has infringed on two of Strava’s patents: segments and heat maps.Segments and heat maps … I’m already lost.Segments allows users to track their time in a section of a workout on a particular route compared to other users, while heat maps allows users to see where popular routes are across the globe.Strava claims Garmin has copied these features in breach of the patent, and an agreement the companies made a decade ago for Garmin not to reverse engineer some of the features of Strava’s app for its own purposes.
But why are runners so exercised (see what I did there) about this? Why is my Reddit feed filled with runners freaking out?You may have heard your insufferable friend say the words “if it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen”.Runners are obsessed with their numbers, trying to have the fastest segment times.It’s almost a cult.There are coffee mugs, T-shirts and even people uploading their wedding photos to Strava.The rise of Strava is happening alongside a running boom – and like any cultural phenomenon, it’s taking place both IRL and online.
Strava makes it extremely easy to share data, making it the natural home for fitness influencers.So while there has been a bit of an outcry over Garmin forcing people to watermark their workouts posted on Strava with Garmin device information from the start of November, a lot of the reaction has actually been against Strava for bringing the case – and potentially making it harder for people to share their runs.Some users are freaking out that the case will mean their planned workouts are no longer tracked.Some users are saying that while they like the Strava app, they’re more tied into the Garmin device for tracking workouts.One user pointed out that much of the data included in heat maps on Strava is derived from Garmin users, and Strava stands to lose out more if that data suddenly disappears.
So what does Strava want Garmin to do? Or stop doing?Strava’s chief product officer Matt Salazar took to Reddit earlier this month to address some of the online discourse about it.He said the case was launched after Garmin ordered Strava to comply with this new watermarking requirement, or face being cut off from being able to use Garmin data by 1 November.The case is in part an attempt to resolve this issue.In the court docs, Strava is seeking to stop Garmin from selling devices that have the alleged infringing features.Salazar’s Reddit post was titled “setting the record straight on Garmin”.
But in the comments underneath his post, users are saying they won’t keep using Strava if it is cut off, and have accused Strava of hypocrisy over claims they’re trying to protect user data.At the moment, Garmin has not responded to the claims or to our request for comments.The company has an investor call at the end of the month – crucially before the 1 November Strava cut-off deadline – so I imagine we will hear more then.What should runners do? What side of this battle should they be on?Remember that if you go for a run, and it is not on Strava or Garmin, it did happen.Log off, go for a run, and touch the grass.
Helen Goh’s recipe for pumpkin cheesecake with maple pecan brittle | The sweet spot
Silky, spiced and just sweet enough, this pumpkin cheesecake is a celebration of autumnal comfort. I’m not a fan of tinned pumpkin – it’s watery and flat-tasting – so I’ve taken the extra step of roasting some butternut or Kent squash; the oven’s heat coaxes out its natural sweetness while evaporating excess moisture, resulting in a smooth, flavourful puree that gives the cheesecake real depth. The maple pecan brittle provides the final flourish: golden, nutty and with just the right amount of crunch to offset the cheesecake’s creamy softness.To make 200g pumpkin puree, chop 350-400g peeled, deseeded pumpkin into chunks, then roast, loosely covered, at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 until soft but not browned. Puree in a high-speed blender
Melbourne bar ranked best in Australasia and 19 in world
For close followers of the annual World’s 50 Best Bars accolade, it’ll come as little surprise to see Melbourne’s Caretaker’s Cottage and Sydney’s Maybe Sammy recognised.For the second year running, Caretaker’s Cottage has been named Best Bar in Australasia, coming in at number 19 globally on the awards list, announced at an event in Hong Kong on 8 October.Coming in at first place on the global list was Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, with Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy at number two and Barcelona’s Sips in third place.Since opening in 2022, Caretaker’s Cottage, which calls itself “probably Victoria’s smallest pub” has “become a must-visit for locals and travellers alike”, says the list’s website. Owners Matt Stirling, Ryan Nordics and Rob Libecans said they were “blown away” by the news they’d ranked highest in the region in 2024
Why bag-in-box wines are here to stay | Hannah Crosbie on drinks
Slap the bag? The wheel of goon? Or, perhaps, goon of fortune? If any of those collections of words mean anything to you (keep your double entendres to yourself, please), you may have fuzzy yet painful memories of bag-in-box wine. The cheapness and the format – not to mention the sheer volume you can buy it for – makes bag-in-box ripe for drinking games.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for red peppers stuffed with orzo, tuna, capers and herbs | A kitchen in Rome
Just beyond the hard rush of Viale Marconi, in the quieter Via Gerolamo Cardano, is a popular bakery called Albanesi il forno delle meraviglie, meaning “the oven [or bakery] of wonders”. Established in 1959 by Aldo Albanesi, and now run by his sons Adriano and Alessandro, Albanesi is wondrous also for its size. Behind an 11-window shopfront lies almost 500 sq m of shop floor, and a small maze of laboratories in which almost everything that can be made is made: bread, pizza, pies, cakes, biscuits, fresh egg pasta, sauces, baked pasta and other dishes that are ready to eat. The snake of glass-fronted counters also hold cheese, other dairy products, cured meats, and vegetables and olives preserved in various ways, while the shelves are packed with everyday provisions of good and practical quality. This is a shop with something for everyone
Strong flat white for Batman: should I use a ‘coffee name’?
“What’s your name?” When people misspell it as “kangaroo”, the answer isn’t so straightforward.That’s why Kantaro Okada goes by “Ken” or “K” when grabbing takeaway. The operator of various Melbourne cafes (279, Le Bajo Milkbar) isn’t alone in disguising his identity. “Everyone has a coffee name at our office,” he says. “Because they have Japanese names
How to turn outer lettuce leaves into mayonnaise – recipe
Wildair in New York is a groundbreaking restaurant that has deeply influenced my cooking. It opened in 2015 as a sister to the now closed Contra, an impeccable fine-dining restaurant, and the same precision and ingenuity was applied to Wildair’s dishes, which have that perfect balance of elevated refinement and skilled execution, all combined with a casual playfulness. You can probably imagine my excitement, then, when I found out that one of my favourite dishes from one of my favourite restaurants also just happened to save waste by making an emulsion from the outer leaves of little gem lettuce cooked in butter. Pure genius.Only I would say this, but finding a use for the outer leaves of a lettuce has always niggled me
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