If you weren’t already aware, Christmas is right around the corner, and what better way to get into the festive spirit than spending nine hours cycling around countless roads all over London to make a reindeer outline on a fitness app?
You may remember Anthony Hoyte, from Cheltenham, who every year sticks on his cycling shorts, gets on his bike and makes pretty pictures using the Strava app.
This year may be his best piece of work yet.
Anthony’s ride, which started in Hammersmith, took in more than 80 miles of road all over north London, and ending on the Euston Road in central London.
The 51-year-old has previously created a Santa, a snowman and a Yorkshire Terrier in Leeds (because Leeds is in Yorkshire, duh).
Describing his latest art, Anthony told ITV:
I’m pretty happy with it.
Until you get back and upload it, you’re not quite sure whether it’s going to work or not.
I live in the countryside and it’s very different to coming to London.
Particularly around Neasden and Wembley, it’s not the most pleasant cycling.
That’s about my maximum distance – I wouldn’t want to go too much above that.
It’s a long day in the saddle.
Apparently Anthony’s inspiration comes from simply looking at maps, where can often be seen staring at an area that he thinks looks like a nose.
He continued:
I think, ‘Where can I find eyes near that? It’s like looking at patterns in clouds and seeing pictures.
With these ones, it’s a bit more tricky because I’m trying to do something festive so it’s harder but it’s the same process really.
People are now so used to Anthony’s amazing images he feels like he needs to do one every year, having ‘made a rod for his own back’.
Anthony did actually admit making a mistake on his reindeer due to a GPS glitch but he wants people to try and spot it themselves… if they can.
They’re so small that nobody is going to notice really.
That sounds like a challenge. Arguably a bigger challenge than looking at a map, seeing a nose, drawing a reindeer in your mind, getting on a train to London, cycling 80 miles in 8 hours around one of the busiest cities in the world and posting a near-perfect Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer on Strava.
But that’s just what I think.
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Taking the idea of ‘being woke’ to a whole new level over a decade-long career in sport, court and online news, George has worked for titles and agencies including ESPN FC, Eurosport, LADbible and Court News UK. He may not have a degree but does have an unhealthy obsession with Lord of the Rings.