Technology has enabled humans to try new and creative ways of doing pretty much everything, and today some in the running and cycling communities are exploring what is possible with “GPS art.” While this relatively new trend will most likely not change the world or end up in the Louvre, it is enabling many people to have fun with their workouts, challenging themselves and others to create art while exercising.
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GPS art, GPS doodles, Strava art, or whatever other names it is goes by has become very popular in many running and cycling circles around North America. Runners, walkers, and cyclists are using GPS apps to create works of art by strategically plotting their courses to draw pictures.
Millions of people use apps such as Nike+, RunKeeper, and Strava to track their workouts; marking how far they have traveled, how long it has taken them, peak speeds, average mile times, and the list goes on. Most people use these apps to challenge themselves and to keep logs of their progress. While others post their workouts to Instagram and Twitter, or challenge their friends to beat their times. But in recent years these apps have spawned a whole new use: art creation.
Almost every GPS tracking app maps out the user’s workout from start to finish with a line of some sort. Maybe it happened by accident or by design but people are now using these lines to create detailed pictures and works of art by strategically mapping their workouts, or just winging it.
Stephen Lund, a resident of Victoria, British Columbia, is a prominent member of this budding community. He has his own blog, gpsdoodles.com, and has even given a TED Talk about this new art form. The blog began in early 2015, and he has posted all of his self-proclaimed “doodles,” even though almost everyone is extremely intricate, ever since. He plans most of them out in his Strava app, taking time to map the route and figure out the best way to create his picture; the hardest part is often strategizing when to turn off the app to create the breaks in the picture.
A #GPSdoodles tribute and thanks to @TEDxVictoria. #tedxyyj was a truly inspiring… https://t.co/ZvH28eCn4h pic.twitter.com/RgVgsNMonS
— Artistry on 2 wheels (@StephenLund1) November 23, 2015
Lund’s GPS creations are thoroughly impressive but by his own admission in his TED Talk he tries to stay away from calling this “art,” as it is “too inclusive of a word.” His preference is GPS “doodle,” because “everyone doodles.”
The ability to draw Darth Vader while working out might not win you any awards, but if these possibilities encourage more people to get outside and run, bike, or walk; one can only hope GPS art is something that does not fade away into internet obscurity any time soon.