Strava is an app that allows runners and bicyclists to record their workouts, track progress, and compete with fellow athletes, among other features. While the company is just one of many that offers such app components, its release of workout route data across the country could prove beneficial in ways larger than simply figuring out who’s the laziest in America.

The heat maps collected from those who use the app are reliant upon a GPS, showing routes people have traveled and what ones are the most common. The app is compatible with more than 100 different kinds of GPS devices. It’s important to note the data only shows routes of people who use Strava as well as a GPS. There are plenty of other athletes who do not use the app, as well as those who are users but do not track every single workout.

According to Strava, the data set includes 77,688,848 rides, 19,660,163 runs, and represents about 220 billion total data points. Users are able to separate biking and running data to get a better idea of which routes are best for what sport. The information also provides advice to athletes about suggested routes, as the routes that appear in dark red are the ones most traveled. Those who are traveling or have moved to a new city could benefit greatly from this data. At the same time, if someone lives in an extremely rural location, it may not be the best idea to upload route information for others to see, as they’re likely the only person running or biking that route.

It turns out this information is beneficial for the future planning of routes as well by showing evidence of what kinds of routes are the most popular. The Oregon Department of Transportation is one of the first to form a partnership with Strava, paying the company $20,000 last fall for a one-year license of data.

Jonathan Maus from BikePortland.org reported the data set “includes the activities of about 17,700 riders and 400,000 individual bicycle trips totaling 5 million BMT (bicycle miles traveled) logged on Strava in 2013.”

“The problem for many transportation agencies today is that, while bicycling is on the rise (for both transportation and recreation), there remains a major lack of data,” he wrote. “This gap in data makes it much harder to justify bicycle investments, plan for future bicycle traffic growth, illustrate the benefits of bike infrastructure investments, and so on. It also makes non-auto use of roads very easy for agencies to overlook. And while ODOT and many cities do bike counts already, they only measure one location for a short period of time. Most importantly, current bicycle count methods don’t provide any context about how people actually ride. It’s this element of ‘bicycle travel behavior’ that ODOT is most excited about.”

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