This Just In: googlemaps for bikes!

[Mr. Bloom]

We've got it...let's start using it!

Google Announces Google Biking Directions at the
League of American Bicyclists'
2010 National Bike Summit

Washington, D.C. - March 10, 2010 - The League of American Bicyclists is proud to be the forum for Google to announce what all bike riders have been waiting for - Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps. Google is announcing at the Opening Plenary Session at the National Bike Summit that they are adding biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps."This new tool will open people's eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding," said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. "We know people want to ride more, and we know it's good for people and communities when they do ride more - this makes it possible. It is a game-changer, especially for those short trips that are the most polluting,"

Users can now choose biking when deciding how to get to their destination, starting today, March 10, 2010. If you're one of the 57 million Americans who ride a bike, mapping your daily commute, and planning recreational or trail rides just became easier. According to Google this has been the most requested addition to Google Maps, and the League is delighted that they have chosen the National Bike Summit to unveil this new feature. Google's announcement further proves the importance of the Summit and the bicycle movement in helping our nation become a more Bicycle Friendly America. The Google biking directions will make it that much easier for bicyclists to get to work, school or play.

This new feature includes: step-by-step bicycling directions; bike trails outlined directly on the map; and a new "Bicycling" layer that indicates bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roads. The directions feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions - similar to the directions provided by our driving, walking, or public transit modes. Simply enter a start point and destination and select "Bicycling" from the drop-down menu. You will receive a route that is optimized for cycling, taking advantage of bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets and avoiding hilly terrain whenever possible.

Visit http://maps.google.com/biking to try out this new feature. Biking directions for Google Maps is currently in Beta. Follow the League's news feed on the new Google feature on the League's Blog, Facebook and Twitter. If you have any further questions, contact Meghan Cahill at 202.822.1333 or meghan@bikeleague.org.

[Mr. Bloom]

Note: this seems to be a green overlay of trails...

[tulip]

While indicating trails is nice in areas that have trails, it's not going to cut it for most cyclists because we ride on the roads because there are alot more roads than trails. I will take a look at the google maps for bikes; I hope it's more than a trail overlay.

I suggest they adopt a road classification system based on the Michelin maps. I am familiar with the Michelin maps of France. Autoroutes (interstates) are blue and not open to bikes. National Routes (like highways) are red and are typically too heavily travelled by cars to be very bike friendly. Departmental Routes are yellow and are generally very good for cycling. Roads indicated in white are the smallest (and often the most interesting) roads, and are excellent for cycling, although sometimes a circuitous.

With Michelin maps, I can go to a part if France that i've never been to before and confidently travel by bike for errands or touring.

That's what we need in the US. That's what Google maps should provide. US roads are already classified type, so the baseline us already done.

[OakLeaf]

I just googled the addresses I used to commute to and from in Columbus, OH, 25 years ago. The green overlays in Columbus, at least, the dotted green lines are bike routes designated by the city over roads open to cars, the solid green lines are trails. All of the commute is over roads that are open to all vehicles (then and now); while it didn't return exactly the route I used to take, traffic has changed a lot in 25 years, too. It does go through one pretty sketchy neighborhood that I might not want to ride through alone, or outside commuter hours even with one or two others, but I really wouldn't expect Google Maps to take the neighborhood into account.

W/R/T the road classifications, honestly, if I'm planning a long trip in an unfamiliar area, I prefer paper maps, which all do have that kind of legend. Paper maps let me see the big picture the way no computer screen can. Obviously the final routing I'll do with Street Atlas or the like. Unfortunately, the Michelin routing software isn't sold in the USA, and I don't need it enough to buy it grey-market. I guess if I were planning a bici trip anywhere in Europe, I probably would. I've bought grey-market software before (back when they first came out with the Petit Larousse in CD-ROM and weren't selling it in the USA) - it's expensive, but it's available.

[tulip]

I was referring to the paper Michelin maps. I am not familiar with their software. I prefer paper maps, too, but Google maps makes getting directions from A to B so easy. I'm getting spoiled, I'm afraid.

[OakLeaf]

Also... one thing I often do when mapping an unfamiliar running route on mapmyrun, is to go to the aerial/satellite view. That not only gives me a pretty good idea of the level of traffic/whether a road is a major artery, it tells me what the neighborhood looks like and whether I would enjoy being there, whether there's a shoulder, and if so, how wide it is, and also where the stop lights are when I need to cross a major road.