Around the World in Strava Art

The beauty of art, and Strava Art in particular, is that the world is your canvas. However, for some Strava artists, the world is not just their canvas but also their muse.

Whether on foot, bike, or kayak, people around the world have been practicing cartography on Strava for years. To celebrate these intrepid map makers, we thought we would highlight some of the impressive pieces of Strava Art that showcase countries around the world.

The Americas

Our trip around the world begins at the home of Strava in North America. Gustavo Lyra penned this map of the US while out on a 4.2 mile / 6.8km run in Extremoz, Brazil.

Sticking with Brazil, and sticking with Gustavo, the Extremoz resident used the same canvas to not only create a drawing of his country, but he also threw in a representation of Rio's iconic Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue as well.

Asia-Pacific

It has to be said that when exploring the world in Strava Art, the Aussies are undoubtedly the most prolific when it comes to pictorial representations of their country. Whether they're drawing their map by bike or while out for a run (kudos for the animals), Aussies love celebrating the Land Down Under. However, it was this picture of Australia drawn while in a kayak that really caught our eye - 'onya John Havranek (scroll left on the activity to see John's masterpiece).

A prolific Strava Artist in his own right, Big Bird GPS Art is worth following if you enjoy Strava Art. To celebrate Matariki in New Zealand - the Maori New Year - Big Bird completed this 28 mile / 46.25 km run to create an outline of New Zealand (scroll left on the activity to see Big Bird's masterpiece).

When it comes to sport, there are few more passionate nations on earth than India and its love affair with cricket. And to celebrate India's win at the recent T20 World Cup, Harshan Prakash drew this map of the country while out for a 44 mile / 72km ride in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Europe

The Strava Art movement in Europe has become legendary over the last couple of years. Whether artists are breaking world records, or simply drawing exquisitely straight lines, Europeans are setting a high bar for Strava Art around the world.

We'll begin our celebration of the European art scene with, arguably, the country that is driving the movement forward. Yann Cressent's personal Tour de France around Paris is not just exquisite in its accuracy, but also in the fact that Yann covered more than a marathon to complete his masterpiece (scroll left on the activity to see Yann's drawing).

If you're going to draw a country, what better way than to cycle its border? Not only does this guarantee absolute accuracy, but usually necessitates an epic adventure at the same time. Witness Adrien Renier's incredible Tour de Belgique - an 807 mile / 1300 km 'lap' of Belgium. What a sensational effort.

Some use Strava Art to celebrate, others to commemorate. This was the case for Nathan Rae, who went on a 39 mile / 63.4 km run in the UK to memorialize the UK's departure from the European Union.

One of the countries that has received a lot of attention over the past few years is Ukraine (for obvious reasons). There have been plenty of drawings to promote solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including this one by Martijn Beets.

The Whole World

And, finally, there are some for whom a single country just isn't enough. Over the years, there have been plenty of stunning depictions of the globe, including this one from Big Bird GPS Art (again). Scroll left on the activity to see Big Bird's view of the world.