The Chainlink

Google Introduces Bicycling Directions

Stolen from Bob Kastigar. Credit where credit's due.

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

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.

http://maps.google.com/

Click on "Get Directions" and select from drop-down list.

Click on "More..." box and check "Bicycling"

League of American Bicyclists Press Release
a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/03/national-bike-summit-2010-google-announces-bike-google-maps-at-summit-today/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(7, 77, 143);">http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/03/national-bike-summit-2010-google-announces-bike-google-maps-at-summit-today/>


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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on March 10, 2010 at 4:00pm
Then pay for it. It's the same deal with TV programming. Want HBO, Showtime, etc with no commercials - pay for it.

Even with the ads, I find MapMyRide to be a great tool for creating maps for routes to pass along to others or to have along with you if you're riding a route you haven't done in a while. And, well, it's invaluable for printing out maps and cue sheets when leading a ride.

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:
I have to second that. The ads are just way too much. To the point of being barely usable.
Duppie said:
Thanks for setting me straight. To my defense, I used it a while back (signed up), but the ads are soooo annoying, it spoils the complete experience. I quickly left and vowed to never return..

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on March 10, 2010 at 4:12pm
No thanks. I'll use one of the 8 other free ones.

I don't take kindly to the "we'll annoy the living crap out of you till you buy". If their ads were less obnoxious, I would consider buying. (All other considerations being equal of course.)

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Then pay for it. It's the same deal with TV programming. Want HBO, Showtime, etc with no commercials - pay for it.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on March 10, 2010 at 4:14pm
The ad box is movable, you know, right?

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:
No thanks. I'll use one of the 8 other free ones.

I don't take kindly to the "we'll annoy the living crap out of you till you buy". If their ads were less obnoxious, I would consider buying. (All other considerations being equal of course.)

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Then pay for it. It's the same deal with TV programming. Want HBO, Showtime, etc with no commercials - pay for it.
Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 10, 2010 at 4:19pm
What do you mean "not bad" in re: the Riverwalk? Is there a bike ramp there? This is below street level right? I thought you'd have to carry your bike down the stairs. Am I wrong?

I got the Riverwalk when I tested my daily commute at Google. The directions should be extremely simple (Wilson, to Clark, to my building at Clark and Madison) but it gave me overly-complex directions (wilson-clark-halsted-lincoln-wells-riverwalk-wabash-madison). They've got a ways to go with this.

Duppie said:
Did a quick check from Andersonville to Union Station. It sends me down the Lakefront path (not bad), end then down the Riverwalk (not bad either). It then dumps you onto Wacker Drive (WTH?)
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on March 10, 2010 at 4:21pm
Yea. I'd rather it be an immovable box on the side, or the bottom. I move it and move it and move it.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
The ad box is movable, you know, right?

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:
No thanks. I'll use one of the 8 other free ones.

I don't take kindly to the "we'll annoy the living crap out of you till you buy". If their ads were less obnoxious, I would consider buying. (All other considerations being equal of course.)

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Then pay for it. It's the same deal with TV programming. Want HBO, Showtime, etc with no commercials - pay for it.
Permalink Reply by Michael A on March 10, 2010 at 10:48pm
maybe next time you should not sign into google under your name

iggi said:
direction to work suggest i take alleys through a good portion of the city.
Permalink Reply by J.P. on March 11, 2010 at 12:40pm
why is it suggesting taking alley ways? Isn't that a little weird... who would ride several blocks through alleyways (unless you really like getting flats).
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on March 11, 2010 at 12:47pm
I would, but I have Marathon Plus tires. :)

And all of the Rat Patrol.

J.P. said:
why is it suggesting taking alley ways? Isn't that a little weird... who would ride several blocks through alleyways (unless you really like getting flats).
Permalink Reply by Martha Williams on March 11, 2010 at 1:01pm
Didn't realize this discussion was already started. anyways, blogged about the new google map bicycle option. check it out:
http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/?
Permalink Reply by heather s on March 11, 2010 at 1:13pm
When you drag the line to create a better route, does Google receive that data? Or do you always have to report it separately?

I wrote in an error report about all the alleys. Not sure if there's a person who reads those or if they just go into some database. I will say, though, reading reports from various other cities, it seems like a lot of people are pretty happy with it. The whole alley problem may be Chicago-specific. (I am not well-traveled and don't know how common alleys are in other cities.)
Permalink Reply by J.P. on March 11, 2010 at 1:35pm
No, no I am happy with it. I just thought the whole alley thing was weird. I don't think Google receives the changes you make to the route.
Most of the routes I checked out were dead on, there are some problems with mapping some parks (which you can go through, but Google will lead you around them).
Not sure what the previous comparison to MapMyRide was, I think Google Bike Maps is already better. MapMyRide gives you essentially walking directions - the only active intelligent routing they do is keep you away from highways/expressways etc.
Permalink Reply by heather s on March 11, 2010 at 1:43pm
When you're going through a park, you're usually riding on a sidewalk, right? Hard to expect them to route you onto an illegal path.

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