Google's Official Blog states, "My team has been keeping close tabs on all the public support for biking directions that's been steadily coming in, but we knew that when we added the feature, we wanted to do it right: we wanted to include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes. So that's exactly what we've done."All you need to do is hit the drop down box for selecting your transportation method and select "bike there." The directions generated will direct you along the flattest route, will help you avoid the busiest intersections, and will show you when there are bike-only trails or when there are bike lanes available on the roads. It shows you a great layer, highlighting:
- Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only trail;
- Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
- Dashed green indicates roads that are designated as preferred for bicycling, but without dedicated lanes
More than 12,000 miles of trails are included in biking directions and outlined on the map, covering over 150 cities across the states. And more are being added. Read more at Google Maps Bike There. There's even a bike directions widget that you can add to your desktop.
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