Strava Art: The Grand Finale

Last week I wrote about how cyclists such as myself were getting creative with Strava Art while still practicing social distancing. Here’s my last entry before I sign off of Strava and take a break from riding outdoors.

When Stage 1 Cycling Team was organizing a “Go Paint US a Picture” Strava Art competition began, I started brainstorming what I could do as my one big entry. I was hoping to do something locally in NYC on the scale of the pieces that Stephen Lund creates. I studied maps of the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Northern New Jersey, Long Island, and Rockland County. My eyes started seeing double like you do when staring too long at stereograms. I chatted with my pal, Donalrey, who is one of the most prolific & gifted route makers I know, asking him if he saw figures in those maps. I figured if anyone could spot something cool in the messy grid and windy curves, it would be a master route maker and artist.

Don came through and spotted a rough pixelated animal head shape - maybe a lion? - in Midtown. I gave him a virtual high five and ran with the idea. I signed up for a premium version of ridewithgps.com and went to town on refining my Midtown Lion head. I decided to expand the design into Brooklyn & Queens by adding a body and tail.

One Strava Art protip technique I learned from Stephen Lund is that when you pause your GPS device mid-ride and unpause it somewhere else, a straight line is drawn in Strava connecting the two points. I used this technique to connect the lion head to its hind quarters across the East River. The rest was just a patience-testing series of endless turns and double-backs to create the lines that comprise the lion. Another tip I learned from my earlier attempts is that it’s important to turn off the autopause and re-route features in your GPS computer. This forces the device to prompt you precisely as you planned out in advance.

It took longer than I thought to execute the 31 mile route (which in actuality is longer due to the “off Strava” riding over the Williamsburg bridge and Queensboro bridge required to connect the dots). Three hours in total, not including the miles to and from the start of the ride from my apartment in the Bronx. In the end, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Empty Times Square. Photo by Liz.

And on that note, I’m retiring from Strava Art making for the time being. One thing that isn’t reflected in these rides is how empty the streets of the busiest and most vibrant city in the world is, during this time. It’s like the twighlight zone out there, and the empty streets are the only reason I’ve been able to complete these routes at all. I expected the quiet streets would mean relative safety - less cars, less pedestrians, etc. But ironically, I took a spill off my bike on a small hidden road defect at slow speed. I was fine, and my bike was fine, but I was shook up by the thought of how my actions could have landed me in the hospital - adding unnecessarily to an already overburdened system. Everyone needs to make this judgment call for themselves under their own unique circumstances, and in this ever-changing landscape, that is not an easy decision to make. But for now, for me, this is a risk I’m no longer comfortable taking.

I’m still a Zwift holdout, but I’m sure I’ll find some other activities to keep my mind and body active at home. Looking forward to seeing everyone out there on the other side of this. In the meantime, be well.