Recumbent cyclist creates animated map showing five years of riding
We like the idea of maps and bikes. Maps help us get around and show others where it is safe to bike. And, while we get it is a bit obsessive and geeky, we like mapping where we ride. Our PTBO Cycling VideoMap Project and Peterborough Recreational Bicycle Trails Map on Google are examples of that. But what happens when you take the drive to map and fuse it with some programming smarts? Days and days of cycling around Toronto, all recorded for posterity.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC56P-Ro4PY&w=640&h=480]
Youtube user jhgredekop has written a program to take his GPS recordings and turn them into video animations that tracks days and days of biking into frantic light shows. The videos show both his trips and, as the trips add up, a ghostly outline of Toronto, as seen by one cyclist.
The example above is a five-year record from 2004-2009 and lasts about four minutes. The end result is pretty neat. There is also a 12-minute video covering six years that ends with a really good image of bikeable Toronto. There are also several year-by-year videos.
But the end product is only half the fun. The videos themselves are somewhat hypnotic as they slowly grow into a recognizable framework that is Toronto’s road and trail network. The trip titles and position information zip by as the video progresses. Testament to the many kilometres of riding. Cool stuff.
So, any GPS programming geeks out there in Peterborough interested in a similar project for #bikePTBO?