Considered one of the world's greenest cities, you'll spot numerous cyclists on Metro Vancouver's streets and bike paths.
But not everyone makes creative maps that look like fun animals, people, and funky designs out of their bike paths.
Janine Strong was born and raised in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and attended post-secondary education at UBC. She only returned to Canada's rugged west coast after several adventures and mini-lifetimes abroad, including several years in Taiwan and South Africa.
Among her travels, she taught fitness classes aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel that made trips to the mighty Alaskan frontier in the summer and Mexico's breathtaking Pacific Coast in the winter. Strong lived in the United States from 2007 until 2022, which is where her love of cycling began.
Strong picks up cycling in the Big Apple
Strong says she picked up cycling while living in New York, becoming what she considers a "serious cyclist" in 2019. After she started using the Strava app to map her GPS routes, she noticed that some of her paths looked like unusual shapes.
"I was out on a ride and noticed the line on the road looked like a little dragon, and when I looked more closely, I saw that there were roads I could go on to augment the drawing," she explains.
After discovering she could get creative with mapping, the then-New Yorker was hooked. When she embarked on the cross-country voyage that led her back to B.C., she made stops in places she considered ideal biking destinations - and she got creative with her designs.
Strong says Boulder, Colorado, was one of her favourite stops because of its sublime natural beauty. The relatively small city features jaw-dropping mountain ranges that feel "right there."
"The natural beauty is amazing, and I can see how it would be beautiful in every season. I did a GPS drawing. I drew a bearded mountain man," she says with a laugh. "The drawing was a reflection of the location, with a kind of hipster vibe."
Similarly, Plymouth, Wisconsin, is considered the Cheese Capital of the World, and she didn't miss the opportunity to draw a little rat or mouse. She also mapped out a shark in Cape Cod, a peninsula in Massachusetts, the state where the iconic movie Jaws was filmed.
After moving to Vancouver, the B.C.-bred cyclist began mapping an impressive collection of local bike routes, including a piggy bank, a crocodile, and a tyrannosaurus rex.
"Vancouver is pretty good for cycling, and when you are drawing, you can go places that can take you places that are awkward to ride. I leave extra time for places that are slow to get through," she notes.
Strong also participated in the 122-kilometre GranFondo event (with an over 2,300-metre elevation gain) in September 2024. She rode 58 kilometres back to Squamish where she stayed overnight, and since she rode to the start of the event, she clocked nearly 200 kilometres on her bike that day.
"Then I rode another 100 kilometres back to Vancouver the next day. Woo hoo! such a great couple of days."
Treacherous highways on Vancouver Island
In contrast, Strong says some areas of Vancouver Island feel pretty scary to navigate.
"When I first started riding on Vancouver Island, there were so many things on the side of the road. In Nanaimo, I got a lot of flat tires. You also have to ride on the highway, and there's not a ton of shoulder," she explains.
While she's never been in an accident, Strong has had "plenty of close calls." However, she credits mentorship through cycling groups in New York that helped her become confident on a bike and know what to do in specific situations. She adds that group cycling is also "a lot of fun."
Strong moved to Oregon a month ago and is living on a 40-acre permaculture seed farm. She plans to stay through October, and says there aren't many places to create cycling maps, but she still rides frequently.
While she loves travelling and visiting other places, Vancouver will always have a piece of her heart.
"I love Vancouver's natural beauty, its location right near the ocean, and the city's amazing multicultural aspect."
You can check out Strong's GPS art on her Instagram channel strava.artist.
