WordPress and Strava – Using WP Strava on this blog

I installed WP Strava on this blog to share my Strava cycling and running activity. At the time of this blog post you can see my most recent bike rides in the left column as well as the most recent map. With a minimum of code you can also include your bike rides within a post like you see below. You write activity id=number of activity and the ride will be integrated within your blog posts without the need for embed codes and an iframe.

This is useful for activity bloggers such as myself. The code is simple and easy to remember, as soon as I find the right keyboard keys to avoid the need to copy and paste. Shortcodes are to add information to blog posts and the widgets are for the side bar.

SHORTCODES

activity id=NUMBER – add to any page or post. Also takes the following
optional parameters:

• som – english/metric (system of measure – override from default setting)
• map_width – width (width of image in pixels)
• map_height – height (height of image in pixels)

WIDGETS

Strava Latest Rides – shows a list of the last few activities

Strava Latest Map – shows map of latest activity with option to limit
latest map to activities of a certain minimum distance

Limitations

It would be nice for the maps that are included within posts to be zoomable, so that we can look at the details of the bike ride and see information for specific segments. This functionality is available on the website but there is no easy link to the strava posts. It’s an advantage because it’s native to your site but it’s a shame if you’re trying to grow a strava following. For that functionality you need the widget.

Overall it’s a quick and simple solution to add Strava maps and ride/run data to your blog post. You can then add images and a textual description to complement the map.