Janine Strong doesn’t need a pencil or a paintbrush to create this kind of art – just a bike, a map, and a strong pair of legs.
The Nanaimo-born cyclist has turned her passion for pedalling into something that looks more at home in a gallery than on a GPS screen.
After years of exploring her creative side through painting, photography, and drawing, Strong found a new canvas in Strava art.
Strava art is a modern twist on fitness and creativity. The GPS-tracking app is best known for logging runs, rides, and workouts, but some users have found a different kind of inspiration in the routes themselves. By carefully planning their paths, they’ve turned city streets into massive sketches, viewable only from above.
Think Santa Claus riding across UVic’s Ring Road, a bull terrier in Connecticut, or a peace symbol circling East Vancouver. It’s cycling, cartography, and creativity all woven into a single line.
“There’s only one line – you can’t lift the pen,” Strong said. “So if you need to go back, it’s a lot of backtracking. You’ve got to be really precise.”
She’s been at it since 2019, when a ride near her then-home in the Berkshires of Massachusetts left what she thought looked like a small dragon on her GPS track.
“I went back and added legs, a wing and an eyeball,” she said. “It was rudimentary, but my cycling friends noticed and asked if I’d done it on purpose. That kind of lit the spark.”
Strong now sees city grids and winding back roads as canvases.
Her approach to GPS art varies – sometimes sparked by a shape in the road layout, other times guided by an idea she wants to bring to life.
“I really enjoy the part of the process where I sit and just look at the maps,” she said. “Sometimes I see something in the angles of the roads – maybe it looks like a whale’s tail – and then I try to draw the rest of it. Other times I start with a concept, like a peace sign, and I try to find a way to make it fit.”
Her creative cycling has taken her to cities across North America, but Victoria remains a special stop.
She’s drawn birds and holiday-themed characters around town, including a Grinch sketched during a winter visit to Christmas Hill.
“Victoria’s a beautiful place to ride,” Strong said. “It’s got good cycling infrastructure, a great community, and it always feels like coming home.”
Though shes now adventuring in Southern Oregon, Strong’s ties to Vancouver Island run deep. She was born in Nanaimo, attended high school there, and has family spread between the Island and Vancouver.
“Even though I’ve lived in other places, the Island has always felt like home,” she said.
Her work has recently gained broader attention, landing her pieces in exhibitions in Barcelona, Boston, and an upcoming event in Hong Kong.
But beyond the global reach, what really resonates for Strong are the people who feel inspired to try their own GPS art – including families sending her their own small drawings made in local parks.
“That’s what means the most,” she said. “Art is about connection and this is such a fun, unexpected way to make it.”
Strong plans to return to the Island again this winter – and if her past visits are any indication, Victoria can likely expect another surprise on the map.
