We applauded Google years ago when it added walking directions to Google Maps. Public transportation directions are also helpful. The newest addition to Maps is Bicycling directions. Now in beta (what at Google isn’t?), you can look up the bike routes you take, and learn about new ones. I just mapped a ride I took a few times last summer, Manhattan to Nyack, New York. It suggested two routes that differed even a little from the two routes I’ve ridden in the past. Now I’m looking forward to a nice enough day to take the new routes.
For discovery, Google highlights streets by bike friendliness. Dark green lines on the map indicate dedicated bike-only trails. Light green lines mark streets with a dedicated bike lane along the road. Dotted green lines indicate roads without bike lanes, but still appropriate for biking based on terrain, traffic, and intersections. In hilly cities such as San Francisco Google Maps will plot out a course that’s less hilly. Of course you can always drag and drop your route on the map to adjust to your specifications.
Google partnered with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit that creates a network of trails from former rail lines, to build the data in over 150 cities for this project. To get biking directions you can go to Google Maps and select bicycling as your mode of transportation, or go to the specific page for bicycling.
Check out Google’s video on its new maps for bicycling.
