Google Bicycling Directions

I just found out about a cool new Google maps feature that I have to share.  It’s called Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps.  Sound interesting?  It did to me, so I checked it out.

We get quite a few people stopping in at Hincapie Sportswear headquarters asking us how to get from here to there on their bike.  They want to know the safest way or the recommended cycling way to get somewhere.  We love helping folks with these recommended cycling routes, but we worry sometimes that the directions become a little confusing.  I often think to myself, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could just hand them a map that will help them find their way.”  Well, now you can…sort of.

Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps is a new beta program they are testing that allows you to apply a bicycling filter to your Google Maps directions.  Google says:
“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.”

Google unveiled this new feature today at the League of American Bicyclists’ 2010 National Bike Summit in Washington, DC.  I did a quick search on the route from Greenville, SC to Travelers Rest, SC and it seems to be choosing the route I would use by bike.  When I chose “by car” it shows the route I would drive.  I think that’s pretty cool.  Obviously, it will get better as people use it and they refine it, but this was a good start in my book.  It’s great to see someone like Google taking up the cycling cause and helping to make things better for all of us.  Check it out for yourself and let me know if it works well in your area.

Biking Directions on Google Maps