February was another busy month in the world of Strava art, with a couple of seasonal celebrations and a whopping world record.
Strava art is what happens when the GPS map of a ride takes on a shape of its own, occasionally by accident but usually by design – and increasingly by ever-more audacious, detailed, and artistic design.
In February, we had Valentine’s Day and the consequent abundance of GPS love hearts, while we also had the Chinese New Year, with the Rabbit making way for the Dragon, which saw one incredible piece of art in particular.
There were also a string of birds, a bird-horse, and a happy accident of a T-Rex, not to mention that amazing world record.
The Dragons
Chinese New Year was on February 10 this year, seeing a switch to the next animal of the zodiac, this now being the Year of the Dragon. Animal imagery always accompanies these celebrations and Strava art is usually a notable outlet.
We start with a fantastic effort from Australia. Strava art expert Gary Cordery, who runs the Strava art Instagram account, noted to us last year that Adelaide, with its grid-like streets, is favourable to Strava art, but this is a remarkably complex image nonetheless. What’s more, it’s massive, measuring almost 225km at nearly 13 hours in the saddle.
This one isn’t quite as strong but earns points for: a) being done in China itself, and, b) being done on a public rental bike.
The show-stealer, however, is without doubt this absolute stunner from Nicolas Georgiou, one of the world’s preeminent Strava artists, who in fact walked off with top spot in our Best Strava art of 2023 awards. He’s back with this beast, which is 12 hours and 200km but also beautifully designed and executed.
The Valentines
Valentine’s Day produced a slew of Strava art, although it has to be said the cyclists were well and truly shown up by the runners. There are some gems we’d love to include here but we’re sticking to our brief as a cycling website.
There’s this simple but effective love letter to San Francisco, although the caption does go from the soppy to the NSFW.
We also have this Valentine’s red rose being extended by some sort of bird. Again, the caption tops this off, with bizarre but brilliant references to and pictures of both Guns n Roses and Titanic.
The birds
On the theme of birds, two popped up in the same city, in February. One is surely a dove with an olive branch, the other looks be more of a bird of prey – we’re going to say hawk.
Strava art expert Gary Cordery neatly photoshopped the two together on the same map of Eindhoven.
Does this belong in the birds section? It has wings, so we’re saying yes.
It’s a stupendous Pegasus drawn in Vietnam.
The accidental
We love carefully crafted pieces of Strava art but we also like those that take it back to its accidental roots – rides that are ridden without a second thought but somehow bear a striking, unintended resemblance.
Here’s a T-Rex produced by an unwitting mountain biker in Norway.
The world record
We’ve already covered this one on GCN, but it’s a surefire entry into February’s best, and may rival Georgiou’s dragon, depending on your persuasion.
It’s a set of Olympic rings drawn by a French duo over 2,196.21km and 10 days. The moving time was 96 hours 11 minutes — or four full days — at average speed of 22.8km/h and a total elevation gain of 14,712m.
It is set to be ratified as the Guinness World Record for the largest GPS drawing by bicycle (as a team), knocking off another French duo – father and daughter – who drew an enormous heart in the middle of the country last year.
That heart raised a bucket load of money for charity, and there were good intentions behind this effort, which celebrated the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris but also backed the ‘Le Sport a du Cœur’ organisation, which aims to use sport as a force for societal good.
Which was your favourite piece from February? Let us know in the comments below, and share any of your own Strava art.
