Policies

Last updated 11 July 2026.

Privacy Policy

Who we are

This Privacy Policy applies to anyone who connects a Strava account to use this website. South Side Cycles is the "responsible party" under POPIA, meaning it's the club, not any one individual, that's accountable for how information is handled here. For questions or concerns about this policy, contact richard@geek.org.za, who acts as the club's contact person for information-handling matters.

What we collect

Signing in with Strava is the only way to use this site. We don't maintain separate usernames or passwords. Depending on the permissions you authorise through Strava, we may collect:

Your name and nickname. Used to identify you on ride lists, leaderboards, and your own profile page.
Your Strava rider ID. Used to link your account here to your account on Strava.
OAuth access and refresh tokens issued by Strava. Stored securely so the site can synchronise new rides you've authorised without asking you to log in every time.
Details of rides that match up with South Side Cycles group rides. Distance, moving time, average speed, elevation gain, and, if your device records them, average heart rate and power. This is what powers stats, leaderboards, personal bests, and milestones.
GPS traces of matched rides. Used solely to determine whether an activity matches a South Side Cycles group ride, then deleted after 6 months (see How Long We Keep It below).
FTP (Functional Threshold Power), birthday, and a custom join date. All optional, either set by you in Settings or, for FTP, fetched from your Strava profile if you've set one there.

Your profile photo isn't something we collect or store at all. Your page just links directly to the image already hosted on Strava's own servers, so it's loaded fresh from Strava each time, never copied or kept here.

We only ever pull in activity data for rides that look like they matched a real South Side Cycles group ride, not your entire Strava history. An unrelated solo ride or a ride with a different group is fetched briefly to check whether it matches, and if it doesn't, it's simply never linked to anything on this site.

Why we collect it

We process your information because you choose to connect your Strava account and use this service, because doing so is necessary to provide the features of the website, and because South Side Cycles has a legitimate interest in operating club rides, statistics, and member participation.

Who can see it

Your name, nickname, photo, and ride stats are visible to other signed-in club members, that's the whole point of a shared leaderboard. Heart rate, power, FTP, and Intensity Factor each have their own privacy toggle in Settings, letting you hide any of them from other members while still keeping them in your own stats. Authorised club administrators may access this information where reasonably necessary to administer the site, investigate issues, or verify ride results.

Third parties

We don't sell, rent, or disclose your information to third parties except where reasonably necessary to operate this website, such as using Strava's services to authenticate your account and retrieve the activity data you've authorised us to access. We don't use it for advertising. Nothing is ever posted back to your Strava account on your behalf.

Security

Data is stored on servers located in South Africa. Authentication is handled entirely by Strava using OAuth, so this site never asks for or stores your Strava password. Access tokens are stored using reasonable security measures appropriate for a website of this nature, the site is served over HTTPS, and access to administration features is restricted to authorised club administrators.

How long we keep it

GPS traces (raw lat/lng and time data). Kept for 6 months after a ride, then automatically and permanently deleted. They're only ever needed briefly to confirm a ride match, so nothing about ongoing stats depends on keeping them longer.
Ride results (distance, time, speed, elevation, heart rate, power). Kept indefinitely for as long as your account exists, since these are what historical stats, personal bests, and milestones are built from.
Profile details (name, nickname, FTP, birthday, join date). Kept for as long as your account exists, and updated whenever you change them or reconnect via Strava. Your photo is never stored at all, it's always loaded directly from Strava.
Account deletion. Whether requested by you or actioned directly by a club admin, your information is removed from the live system immediately. This includes your rider record, ride results, GPS traces, milestones, custom tags, and challenge completions. The information may remain in encrypted backups for a limited period before those backups expire naturally.

Your rights

Under POPIA, and in the spirit of a fair, transparent club site, you can:

See what's stored about you. Your own profile and rider page already show everything visible to other members. Ask the club contact above for anything else.
Correct it. Your name comes from Strava directly. Your nickname, FTP, birthday, and join date can all be changed any time in Settings.
Delete your account entirely. Also from Settings, via "Request Account Deletion". This flags your account for a club admin to permanently remove, including every ride result, GPS trace, milestone, and tag tied to it. You can cancel the request any time before an admin processes it. Once they do, it can't be undone.
Disconnect your Strava account at any time. Once disconnected, the site will stop importing new activity data, although information already collected will remain until you delete your account or request its removal.

Please contact us about any concerns you have related to your data or personal information, at richard@geek.org.za.

Children

This site is intended only for people who are permitted to hold a Strava account under Strava's Terms of Service. If you believe a minor's information has ended up here without appropriate consent, contact the club contact above and it will be removed.

Terms of Use

What this site is for

This site is for South Side Cycles club members to see upcoming and past group rides, track ride results, and compare stats with other members. It's run by club volunteers, not a commercial product, and provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, including around uptime, data accuracy, or fitness for any particular purpose. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Strava.

Riding is at your own risk

Cycling carries inherent risk. This site's ride schedules, routes, and stats are informational only, they don't constitute safety advice, and using this site doesn't create any duty of care on the part of South Side Cycles, its organisers, or whoever maintains this site beyond what applies to any group ride generally. Ride at your own risk, follow the rules of the road, wear a helmet, and use your own judgement about conditions, your ability, and your equipment on any given day.

Your account

Keep your own Strava account secure, since it's also your login here. Don't misuse the site, for example by attempting to access another rider's private data or disrupting the service. A web admin can suspend or delete an account for misuse, at their reasonable discretion.

Data ownership

Information you create on Strava remains under your control and is subject to Strava's own terms. South Side Cycles stores only the information needed to operate this website and its club features. Nothing in these terms transfers ownership of your personal information or your ride data to South Side Cycles.

Changes

These terms and the policy above may be updated as the site evolves. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version. Continued use of the site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.