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Google Maps Adds Directions For Bicyclists
By spokesman | March 10, 2010
Google Maps has added a new feature that give directions for bicyclists in the United States. The new feature is described in this video. I tried it out for several routes in my neighborhood. It was pretty good, but had a tendency to include some roads with heavy traffic when there were parallel roads with less traffic. Never-the-less, this will be a great feature to use when biking in a new town or planning a tour. The map highlights bike paths and route in green so that you can see other options in the area.
I tried to map a route from Washington D.C. to San Francisco CA. The suggested bike route had 1549 turns and is 3163 miles. Google estimated that you could complete the ride in 11 days and 12 hours. They did not assume a casual tour for this trip with an average daily mileage of over 250 miles per day. If you drive, the suggested route is 2826 miles and you can complete it in 1 day and 20 hours. If you walk, the route is 2850 miles and you can complete it in 37 days and 15 hours.
Adding biking directions to Google Maps had been a requested feature for quite some time. I guess now that the Google employees don’t feel as safe driving their fleet of Toyota Priuses, they are starting to bike more.
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Topics: Bicycle Websites |