GPS artist makes Ottawa streets his canvas, bicycle his brush

An avid cyclist from Victoria, B.C., who uses a GPS tracking app called Strava to "draw" pictures while he bikesis in Ottawa this week to create a city-sized doodle.

His pictures run the gamut, from giraffes and seahorses to dinosaurs and Santa Claus, mermaids andunicorns. His oeuvreeven extends to the risqu.

"Interesting story. I had a lot of requests to draw genitalsand I thought that was rather crude, so I thought I'd better give it some context. I said, 'If I ever do genitals, I would do it on the statue of David.' And ultimately, I did," saidStephen Lundon CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Tuesday.

Lund nicknamed "Cycleangelo" by his admirersis in Ottawato create aspecial workof physical/digital art in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Optometrists, to promote the importance of eye exams tooverall health.

Ottawa doodle could take 6 hours

It'sa figure based on the famous Leonardo Da Vincidrawing called the Vitruvian Man.The figure'shead sits near Parliament Hill andthe torso near Carleton University, with its arms outstretched to the east and west.

"So it covers a fair chunk of the city. ... It'll be a little slower-going than usual because it's a brand-new city for me and I don't want to make any wrong turns.If you make a wrong turn with a GPS drawing, you have to go back to the start," Lund said.

Before he started he saidhe thought it wouldtake him about six hours to complete.

Lund plans the routes in advanceusing a map, and writes himself a series of directions to follow while he's cycling.

"I wish I could say I free-hand these, but it is all about the planning ahead of time," he said.

Still, these arepretty cool.

Check out some of Lund's older designs