The Poor Strava Cyclist : Stava Challenges - Do 'em

To start I must say that I love using Strava on my rides and seeing my progress.  I don’t pay for the premium because well I don't really think it's worth it for me at my level.  So, I did my first Strava challenge this month.  I saw a friend was doing the challenge and thought to myself that I could do that challenge easily.  The challenge was to climb 20,000 ft. (6100 some meters) in the month of January.  I finished the challenge in about 7 days and am still participating in the challenge and have challenged myself to get in the top 1000 by the end of the month.  I figure if I stay consistent at climbing for the rest of the month I'll meet that goal.  Right now with 17 days left I'm sitting around 2,500th out of 60,000+. Because I have finished the challenge I now have a "trophy” that says I've done this challenge in my profile. Cool. AND, because I've finished this challenge I have unlocked the right to purchase a limited edition January 2015 Strava climbing challenge jersey for cough - cough $149 choke - faint - thud on the floor.   Don't get me wrong.  The jersey is really cool.  I'd sport it for sure on some rides.  I'd love to buy one.   But, since for the price of the jersey I can feed my family of four for a week I will have to pass.  I understand that cycling is a fairly expensive sport but really some things come under the category of ridiculous. YOU'VE WON THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND MORE MONEY! - falls under that category.  I know I'm hating here but I guess it's just because I'm poor.  If I had the extra cash I'd probably lay it down.  Either way I still think it's funny to win the option of spending money.  For now I'll add the jersey to my new collection of... uhm... pictures of jerseys I won the opportunity to buy -          

                                                  Really I like the Strava challenge and after completing it I joined two more challenges. If you've never done one I recommend them.  They give you little goals to go after.  I personally like goals and set them all the time for myself but these everyone can see so you have that little extra incentive.  I'd recommend starting with one you're pretty sure you can finish to build some confidence and then go crazy and try them all (maybe not all of them but ones that might push you a little bit more than you're used to). If you want you can follow me on Strava. Just look up Andrew Gates and there's a good chance you’ll find me.  Just keep pedaling.