{"id":171145,"date":"2018-10-26T09:22:38","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T09:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=171145"},"modified":"2018-10-26T09:22:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T09:22:38","slug":"record-national-symbol-gps-art-lions-footprint-celebrates-history-with-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/10\/26\/record-national-symbol-gps-art-lions-footprint-celebrates-history-with-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Record National Symbol GPS Art: \u2018Lion\u2019s Footprint\u2019 Celebrates History with Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

One hundred years ago, there was a different world. European history witnessed some border shifting and \u2018organizational\u2019 changes and from these turbulent waters, smack dab in the middle of it all, emerged the then Czechoslovakia, which later became the today\u2019s Czech Republic. This Sunday, 28th October 2018, marks the former Czechoslovakia\u2019s 100th anniversary so you can imagine some of the parties the country is going to throw. Among all the events and festivities designed to celebrate this milestone, there\u2019s one with an impressive outline. Literally.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Milan \u2018Forrest\u2019 Siln\u00fd is a long-distance cycling enthusiast.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Czech automaker \u0160koda AUTO started out as a small bicycle workshop over 120 years ago so to link cycling with history for such a special occasion was an appropriate way to celebrate. And thus, the Lv\u00ed stopa cycling initiative was born. The initial inspiration for Lv\u00ed Stopa, meaning the \u2018Lion\u2019s Footprint\u2019, was the so called GPS or STRAVA art<\/a>, where you \u2018draw\u2019 on the map by recording the route you ran\/cycled\/walked by using an activity tracking app. These can range in size from a single neighbourhood to a whole city. But when celebrating 100 years, it\u2019s no use to think in doodles, right? The Lv\u00ed stopa planners, \u0160koda and We Love Cycling, opted for the outline of a two-tailed lion, one of the national symbols of the Czech Republic (also called Czechia nowadays), that spanned nearly the whole width of the country. The initiative was supported by most major state-run sports and leisure organisations, such as the Czech Olympic Committee, Czech Union of Sports, Czech Scouting, Czech Cycling Federation or the Czech Tourist Club. And to make things more challenging, the route runs only through cycling-friendly, safe roads and cycle paths.<\/p>\n

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Lion’s Footprint – When Love for Cycling and Your Country Results in a World Record<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Using the Czech Mapy.cz interface as the main drawing board, a website similar to Google Maps, the final version of the \u2018Lion\u2019 boasted 1 932 km and was split into symbolic 100 stages \u2013 each to commemorate one year. Every route was carefully catalogued on the Lv\u00ed stopa website<\/a> according to its difficulty level, with a detailed description of all the renowned Czech landmarks and breath-taking landscape you could see on the way. Anyone was invited to pick up the bike and join this active celebration and log their ride through an app and riders of all walks of life took up the challenge. In its first two weeks of existence, starting with 26th May, Lv\u00ed stopa managed to make a world record for the largest GPS-drawn national symbol, amassing more than 150 cyclists, ranging from 2 to 75 years.<\/p>\n