What is GPX Riding?
“GPX Riding” is a (my) general term for using a GPS device to track and record my location while riding my bicycle. In short, I use
GPS technology
to record where I go in a planned effort to create massive images.
Think of each of these images as being akin to a giant Etch-a-Sketch. Once the recording begins, a continuous line is drawn.
The supplies I use include:
Water bottle mounted on bike
Headset strung below shirt to iPod located in right pocket. The headset, unlike earbuds, allows me to knock them onto my neck if I need to in certain traffic situations.
Map with gator clip in left hand (I typically hold the clip to keep the paper from getting wet. I occasionally clip the map to my shirt while riding)
House keys and whistle on lanyard around my neck
Sunglasses
T-shirt
Shorts with two pockets
Flops or sneakers/socks
Golf pencil in right pocket (used to modify pathway in the event of trouble-shooting)
GPS enabled phone loaded with the proper tracking software in left pocket
Small amount of paper $ in right pocket for refreshments once completed or for the event of an emergency
Mountain Bike
Positive attitude and confidence that the ride will go as planned
Additional Notes & Links...
*The 2010 season featured almost exclusively classic
Rolling Stones
albums and performances on my headset. The 2011 season began with about 70%
Clash
and 30% everything else, but eventually found its way back to a ton of Rolling Stones.
*I’ve ridden in both sneakers and flip flops. Both shoe types work fine, but sneakers allow me to get a bit more aggressive at times. The majority of my rides are with sneakers.
*I have learned so much about my neighborhood from doing this. I not only know and am familliar with steet names of my canvas region, but I have have also gained knowledge of the local terrain, as well as where a variety of fences and cut-throughs are.
*The earth scientist in me also often takes note of the rock types around me, and on many occasions I have imagined what the land must have looked like long before the arrival of people.
*I have yet to take pictures during my rides but may incorporate that someday.
*Each ride requires tremendous focus, easy to moderate stamina, and an overall awareness of where I am and what is around me. I have yet to get hit or cause any traffic trouble. I often have to pick lines that could be dangerous if not in complete focus. Examples of this happen every time I hit busy roads and or when I ride the wrong way down a one-way street. I also frequently find myself making intentional lines down the wrong side of the street. I firmly believe that the reason why I have not had any problems is due to me paying very close attention to everything around me. In many ways, I essentially target towards blending in to the the scene. I've discovered that 98% of the people I see never even notice me (Leaving 2% completely puzzled!)
*I now use two tracking programs to record my ride. This allows me to have a backup in the case that one of my programs force closes. This is a nice amenity especially considering that the first half of my 2010 season was done with one tracking program. It closed several times and did not allow for me to see where I was on my ride at any point in time. The early days were purely a “ride and hope it works” time. I’m very glad that these days are over, but they did add to the rush of seeing if I captured what I was trying for in one exact moment.
*Never included in any of this bike riding data are my journeys to the starting points and returns from the finishing spots. Each ride has a natural start and finish. All of my riding has made me hyper-aware of when I am not recording and I do have a great appreciation zipping around while not being tracked. I have no idea how many additional miles I have rode due to this reality but it must be so many.
*The beginning and end of each ride typically features me straddling my bike on the side of the road while I fiddle with the technology to insure that I save it properly.
*My record for most rides in one day was three, but most of the time I’ll ride one or two in a day. Even one ride can be tiring. Hilly terrain, heat and energy level all contribute to what usually feels like a great workout. The most unique thing about this kind of exercise is that it isn’t over until the ride pathway is completed.
*I got a great question the other day, which was, "have I ever rode in improvise mode?". The answer is, yes! Not originally by plan, but I took a wrong turn very early into "Gecko Stuck to Baltimore, 2010". I ended up riding out the majority of that line on the fly. It was a mixture of comedy and nervousness to complete, because I wanted it to look good even if it was somewhat more abstract than my others.
*
A secret shortcut to the 2011 Ride Journal Hoverbar can be found by clicking on my brick wall pic at the home page, or by clicking here!
*I always feel a sense of adventure just prior to the start of every ride. I suppose I feel this way because I am unsure of what might happen, which in of itself provides and quenches my love of exploration.
*One intriguing aspect of these rides litteral comes from something that is technically out of my control. This is called "GPS Bounce". My signal can have occasional problems that cause it to temporarily glich my digital positioning. Bounce usually happens when I am riding close to tall buildings and my signal gets compromised. Bounce can be annoying, but also makes each ride utterly unique. Examples of bounce can be seen in many of my pieces.
*I have been asked if I have done more rides than what I am showing here. The answer to that is yes. I have a few names of friends that I have ridden, as well as some other large scale shapes. My most notable non-displayed pieces are a "Giant Asteroid, '10", "The Finger, '10", "38, '11" and "Dead Park Flower '11". On top of these, I continue to plan and ride new pathway creations that have not been loaded up here at wallygpx.com, but will be in future updates.
*I've never allowed any of the occasional naysayer comments out there get to me. I find it mildly amusing how some people attempt to 'defend' the word art, while others are skeptical that I even ride these in the first place. The mere fact that they are reacting to what I am doing speaks for itself. Again, thanks to my supporters! I need all the exercise I can get, and my GPX tendencies have been a perfect outlet for me in so many ways. Your kind words and commentary have been appreciated.
*WallyGPX.com cost me $35, and an additional $9 per month to keep it advertisement free. I may consider ad sponsorships in the future, but for now--enjoy!
*Images created are powered by Google Maps, My Tracks and MEGL programming. Thank you. Please consider sponsorship.
*Thank you to photographer Dallas Childers for his help in creating high resolution shots for media purposes, and a VERY special thank you goes out to PB Jeni Queen for all her technical help. She has been a super friend & a tremendous behind the scenes contributor during the entire process! Thanks! ( :
*Another special thank you to
www.gps-art.org
for their support!
*Yes, as mentioned in nearly every WGPX-related communication, I am certainly not the first to use GPS technology in an untraditional manor, and I am well aware that there are others out there. This reality has never held me back though as I have found a perfect vehichle for tricking myself into having fun while exercising. It has also been a nice outlet for my creative tendancies, and learning how to make a tiny website has been a neat learning experience as well. A special thank you & tip of the hat goes out to the courage and creativity of fellow GPS enthusiasts
Vicente Montelongo
,
Jeremy Wood
and
Joseph Tame
.
*I'm so excited to share that
coolsiteoftheday.com
featured WallyGPX.com on November 7th, 2011! Thanks!
*A special thanks goes out to
rightthisminute.com
, who featured a short Skype-based television segment on my work. I am happy to do other interviews with interested groups. Send me an email on the contact form to inquire.
*Check out my radio debut on
98 Rock's Morning Show
with Mickey, Amelia and Spiegel!
*Check out some shots from the
"January 2012 WGPX photo shoot!
*Check out road.cc's often Tweeted and
well-written article!
*WallyGPX.com is powered by Wix. Sorry to those of you who are occasionally experiencing slower loading times. Almost every image on the site is in a lower resolution format to assist in loading times. Despite this, I have noticed occasional slow-downs during heavier demand....haha hopefully WGPX won't melt the servers!
*Interestingly, I have become aware that the rookie hit counter on the front page is inaccurate. It turns out that a large amount of visitors to wallygpx.com have arrived directly to the map gallery page via email and other social media links, which means the total number of visitors is undercut by a sizable number.
*Follow
_WallyGPX
on Twitter and feel free to tweet this site to your network. As of now its my only social media site, and I'm currently using it to keep track of the timeline + to mention something now and then. I plan on updating it more often as the next ride season approaches!
*
Click here for a secret link to the "WGPX Image Overflow" Gallery! (Warning: Graphic Road Rat Kill Images and classification system here!)
*I am happy to consider speaking at your event or institution. I have done 3 presentations for 300+ groups thus far, and they've been a blast! Please use the contact form to inquire.
*Online links, blogs and articles as well as print source media are now appearing internationally! Google search "wallygpx" or "Michael Wallace GPS Artist" for a peek. I remain unannoyed over partial misquoting and some flat out made-up information that some reporters and writers have occasionally relayed. It remains an honor to be discussed, and for that matter, wallygpx.com is the document of this entire endeavor anyways.
*I have been advised to mention that all creative material found here are property of Michael J Wallace, Copyright 2011. You are welcome to to share any of my material from this site, but if possible, please notify me if you do so I know where it is going. I'm also happy to answer any questions for your publication.
*Oops! To all the purists: Sorry for any typo's, misspellings or other errors in my writing. I'm fairly sure what I am sharing is mostly intact! I also want to issue my condolences to those who could not see this site on your first try due to flash issues. Glad you finally made it & thanks for your perseverance!
*Lastly, feel free to Tweet, Blog and share WallyGPX.com. Who knew the blending excercise with creativity would lead to so many smiles! Cheers & Thank you all for your support!
There was a time when I thought I had invented something amazing. That time lasted for about 35 seconds as I went online and immediately discovered that a few other people have apparently tried this as well. This didn’t stop me though. I began my career by spelling my name. It was an absolute thrill to ride that first design and wonder if what I was doing was going to work.
During the early days, I could not see where I was while I was recording. I literally rode my first ten rides and only saw if I made a winner at a specific sweaty moment right after I was done. It was however during that first name-spell ride that my mind flashed a “eureka moment” -- It was during that ride that I realized I could create massive images across the entire city. In short; I will never claim to have invented any of this, I am merely someone who has found a healthy, interesting and unique way to express my creativity through imagination, inspiration, planning, and in this case, exercise. I have, however, spent time searching for others who are doing the same things that I’ve been up to, and at the time of writing this, I have found a few examples of GPS-based art, but have yet to find another person showing a large personal portfolio of GPS Bikework. Because of that, and based on input from friends, it was suggested that I should find a way to share my passion with everyone, and in that encouragement wallygpx.com was born.
My skill level for designing, preparing and implementing each of my pieces has taken time and experience to develop. My ride planning has become increasingly complicated and I have slowly branched further and further away from my home base in making these. So far, I have split my two major creating spells into subsequent "seasons". I figure this will give me renewed time to focus on other interests (collecting meteorites, playing hockey, playing soccer, coaching and playing golf and others) while keeping my GPX tendencies fresh to certain times of the year. Thus far, summer riding has been ideal. I am anxious to experiment with my track sizes and locations in the seasons to come, and it is not out of the question to explore entirely new areas to ride or expand this project into something even more ambitious.
My technique for creating ride lines has varied from thinking of both local and personal inspiration, to staring deep into street maps and seeing if any structures seem to “pop out” at me. I then begin sketching and erasing with a pencil. I will often shelf my ideas and re-visit them a day or two later to rework. Once a ride is plotted, a series of notes and careful satellite examination is made of certain places along the pathway. I also use this time to note the names of any smaller streets that I may come across. This kind of information is crucial to the success of the ride, especially in parks and other questionable places. I am pleased to share that
Baltimore
is generally well-marked. There are very few instances of streets that are unnamed due to a lack of signage, and there are also a large number of passageways (back and side alleys). Cutting thought alleys sometimes appear on the maps as me riding right through the middle of a block, which in fact, I am. I have been down many of these alleys in order to create my images. No joke: I almost always think to myself that "anyone who ever tries to recreate my pathways would get a kick out of this one". I'm not going to say that I'm embarassed to have ridden down some of these lines, but I will add that a few of them were downright nasty and most likely dangerous. Is it, however, the use of these alleys that allow me more freedom in my canvas grid.
Despite the ugly parts, I now own a ton of memories associated with the rides, and particulary the 2010 season, which I have yet to write up. Because of this, I was inspired this season to keep a brief journal recording some of the specific stuff that I have seen before it drifts away. That journal has now become online for others to enjoy. The reason why I did this, to some extent, is that the stories that go along with the rides are sometimes as interesting as the art itself.
Thank you for visiting and supporting my work. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested sponsorship, commision work, have a question, would like to invite me to speak at your event or show my work at your gallery, would like to comment, or simply want to say hi. Please note that I am not (at the moment) offering any signed prints for purchase, as in many ways, that was never the purpose of my work. A television clip I was on gave the impression that I am making $ off of this endeavor, which certainly isn't the case. I am, however, interested in sponsorship that could promote the products and software that I am using to create my pieces.
You can also support me by knowing that you are all invited to visit original signed, framed prints of any of the pieces that you see here when they are on display. The framed work looks terrific especially due to new higher resolution printing. The pieces are printed onto high quality textured plastic paper and mounted on black matting with a black frame. Examples of the printed work can be seen on the "Update 2011 Page" at the end of the ride journal, and the left side gallery of the WGPX in 2012 page.
As of now, wallygpx.com is not set up for commerece or advertsing of any kind, as I am fairly sure the fine print of the software used to create my art contains a 'not for sale' clause, This is being looked into, but in the meanwhile, please do not hesitate to shoot me an email if you are inclined to discuss possibilities.
In the meantime, I also encourage you to join in the fun and see what you can add to the world by using your own passion and imagination. Anyone can look up anything in a book, it is however the creative minds that will drive change, allow for adjustment, engage new challenges, seek alternate approaches to old problems, explore for the sake of curiosity, and for some, to continue the morphing of science and art.
Michael J Wallace, June 2011
Where have I been? Click this landsat composite map to see an overlay of 85% of my rides...
