'Pedalling Picasso' creates moustached man art by biking across London

A man who creates images from tracing his cycling routes is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for charity with his depiction of a moustached man across London.

Anthony Hoyte, aka "Pedalling Picasso" rode 75 miles at the weekend to create the smiling image for Movember.

He hopes to raise £3,925 for the charity – a pound for every man’s life lost to suicide in 2020.

Hoyte, 53, from Cheltenham, pedalled for just under 8.5 hours across the capital to map the route using Strava, an app that follows the performance of athletes before uploading it online.

“If I can raise awareness and some cash for Movember doing something like this, then fantastic,” the 53-year-old said.

“I’ve had a few struggles with my own mental health over the years, and as a typical bloke, I don’t find it easy opening up.”

The charity’s month-long fundraising campaign concentrates on raising awareness and funds for men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

The moustachioed figure from Mr Hoyte’s cycle is inspired by Movember’s annual tradition where men crowdfund for the cause while growing out their facial hair.

“It was harder than I thought it might be,” Mr Hoyte said.

“The whole thing took about three months to plan. On the day, things were complicated by a few road closures, so I had to modify the route on the hoof.

Inspired by a Canadian artist he spotted doing similar sketches online, Mr Hoyte started creating Strava art in 2016 with a “not very good” dog in his hometown of Cheltenham.

This is the Heritage Consultant’s first charity-focused drawing, as he has also completed illustrations of a 66-mile Santa Claus in Birmingham and a 79-mile reindeer in London over the years.

“It’s ended up looking like an 80s sports pundit,” he said of his Movember-themed artwork.

“I’m also not as fit as I could be, so I was shattered by the end.”

Donate to Movember here.