How to Make Strava Art

Basic Steps for Strava Art:

Creating your own Strava Art masterpiece involves a few essential steps that blend creativity with planning and execution (what GPS art is, if you are new to it). So here's a breakdown to guide you through the process:

1. Plan Your Route: (hint: there's an app for that—GPSArtify)
2. Execute the Route
3. Share Your Strava Art

Step 1: Plan Your Route

Planning might seem daunting, but you're not alone! Some of the real heroes among Strava artists, like @lennymaughan or @js_weiss, often plan their routes manually, sometimes even on paper. We believe traditional planning needs to be recognized more, so don't forget to follow them.

But!

You can help yourself out with AI

Instead, you can streamline the process using a GPS art generator app. These tools then help you overlay your designs onto a map, simplifying the route creation process.

Step 2: Execute the Route

Now it's time to bring your Strava Art to life (the full guide covers the types and examples)! Whether you're cycling, running, walking, hiking, SUP riding, kayaking, skateboarding, or rollerskating, the adventure begins when you start moving.

How to Navigate?

• Download Your Route: If you used an online tool like GPSArtify to plan your route, download the .GPX file. If you planned on paper, just bring it along!
• Import the Route: Use your preferred navigation app or GPS device, such as Komoot, AllTrails, Strava, Garmin watches, or Garmin/Wahoo bike computers, to import the downloaded .GPX file.
• Follow the Route: Whichever navigation tool you choose, the key is then to follow your planned route as closely as possible.

How to Record the Route?

While navigating, your primary app may already be tracking your journey. For additional features like social sharing and community engagement, consider recording your journey in another app like Strava, especially if you're not already syncing your GPS device with it.

Step 3: Share Your Strava Art

Once you've completed your route, it's time to showcase your masterpiece. Remember,

"If it isn't on Strava, it didn't happen."

• Be Proud: Don't hesitate to share any Strava Art, no matter how simple or complex. After all, every piece has its charm and deserves recognition.
• Engage with the Community: Share your creations in Strava Clubs as well, so you receive kudos and potentially gain followers.
• Use Hashtags: Boost visibility by using popular tags: #gpsart #gpsartify #stravaart

Export the route to your watch or app

Every route you generate downloads as a GPX file, so the last planning step is then getting it onto the device you will follow. Import it into Komoot, Strava Routes, a Garmin watch, or a Garmin or Wahoo bike computer, and the device gives you turn-by-turn directions along the drawing. If you would rather not juggle apps, the GPSArtify tracker follows the planned line while it records, so the shape comes out clean the first time.

Common mistakes, and how to avoid them

• A shape that needs roads that do not exist. Check the lines on the map before you go: one-way streets, dead ends, rivers and private land are where drawings break. Urban mode fits the shape to real streets for exactly this reason.
• Recording in several activities. The map shows one drawing per activity. Record the whole piece in one go, and pause the recording when you have to walk between lines.
• Starting too big. A heart, a star or your initials read clearly even with a wobble; save the detailed animal for your third piece.
• Forgetting the distance. A running drawing fits a neighbourhood; a cycling drawing can span a city. Set the distance first, then choose the shape.

How to make Strava art on an iPhone or Android phone

You do not need a computer. Open GPSArtify in your phone's browser, plan the shape there, and then download the GPX file to the phone. From there, open it in the app you navigate with: Strava Routes or Komoot on the phone, Garmin Connect for a watch, and an Apple Watch or a Wahoo bike computer through their own apps. Then record the activity as usual, and the map shows the drawing once it syncs. If you would rather keep everything in one place, the GPSArtify tracker follows the planned line while it records.

Strava art for beginners: the first piece

Start small, because a first drawing teaches you more about your streets than any guide can. So pick one clean shape, such as a heart or your initials, choose a grid-like neighbourhood, and keep the distance short. Check the route once on the map before you go, then run or ride it in one activity. Once that first map is on your feed, you will know exactly where the awkward corners are, and the second piece can be bigger.

Which app should you record with?

Any app or device that records a GPS track works, such as Strava, Nike Run Club, Garmin Connect, Komoot, an Apple Watch, or the GPSArtify tracker. Strava is the most popular place to share the result, which is where the name Strava art comes from, but the drawing is the same wherever you record it. GPSArtify is independent and not affiliated with Strava.