Arts / Bristol Cycle Festival
Drawing pictures while riding your bicycle
Whether it’s using roads and cycle paths, or going freestyle, anyone can design their own unique piece of Strava art.
See the Dachshund above? That’s by artist Paula Bowles, who is helping to organise a Strava art competition as part of Bristol Cycle Festival from September 16 to 24.
For the uninitiated, Strava is an app used to track athletic activity via satellite navigation which has swiftly also become a social network for cyclists and runners.
is needed now More than ever
Not solely used to map your cycle ride or run, it has also become a way to draw pretty pictures for those with the time and the inclination.
A master Strava artist is Anthony Hoyte from Cheltenham, who spent more than four hours cycling 33 miles to create this flock of geese stretching from Westbury Park in the north to Bedminster in the south, with the rear geese’s tail drawn on the Portway and the front geese’s beak drawn right at the start of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
Anthony Hoyte from Cheltenham cycled for more than 33 miles over four hours to create this Strava art masterpiece
Think you can do better?
Paula’s top tips are:
- Plan you drawing ahead, before you start cycling
- Pick real-life reference points when you start ‘drawing’, e.g. a tree, a bollard, a sign (it’s easy to forget where you started!)
- Keep your phone app handy so you can track your ‘drawing’
Your Strava art must be based in and be completed before September 21. The competition will culminate with a Strava art exhibition and prize-giving at Roll for the Soul on Friday, September 22 at 7pm.
Entries will be judged on creativity and effort by Jon Usher, head of Sustrans partnerships, South England;
and Zoe Power, official Bristol Cycle Festival artist.
Prizes include an official Strava helmet and cap, plus goodies from Sustrans.
To enter, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/strava-art-competition-tickets-37504301375 and email your entries to stravaartbristol@gmail.com
Incredible Strava art of a dinosaur (not drawn in Bristol)
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