Google Maps adds bicycle directions, turns out its nothing like 'Quicksilver'
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 10th 2010 3:52PM
posted March 10th 2010 3:52PM
Enthusiasts have had plenty to cheer about with the convergence of electronics and bicycling over the years, from bikes that pedal themselves to the various devices and apps that assist them with their training. And for those of us who just want to get from one place to another? Google Maps has added bicycling directions to its walking, car, and public transport options -- with travel times calculated to include things like the number of hills and fatigue over time. But that ain't all! The company has also partnered with Rails-to-Trails to provide information on bike trails in more than 150 cities. According to Google, thousands of miles of trails in the US have already been added to the map, with more to come. For the time being, however, only those planning trips in their home or office need apply: while available on the web, those using a Google Maps smartphone app are being excluded for the time being. So much for "mobile first," guys. Video after the break.
who rides their bike here in NYC? i've lived here two years and can only imagine getting hit by a car in these streets.
@jecks
i live in NYC and tons of my friends bike to school everyday, even sometimes in winters.
do you really live in the city? i bet you don't go outside that often
@jecks
...yeah. My friend at Columbia delivers pizza on his bike as a part time job. Bikes are everywhere.
@jecks Bike messengers sure as hell do. Search Google Video for it. There was a great video (how can you beat scary, crazy, AND fun?) from a handle bar mounted camera not too long ago. I have respect for the NYC bike messengers. That takes gargantuan testicles. They probably don't need directions, though.
exactly what i need! way to go, google!
@(Unverified)
It is a great first step. I think they need to have color codes as to how safe the roads/trails are. Riding on the small shoulder of a two lane road with no turn lane isn't as safe as a bike trail.
And it is only in the US right now...
And they need to work with GPS makers to have a non-internet connected, no monthly fee, GPS device with a solid state drive containing Google Earth that can be mounted to a bike. I could probably build that before they make it though.
"while available on the web, those using a Google Maps smartphone app are being excluded for the time being. So much for "mobile first," guys."
Oh please, Google will probably update Android within the next week to include this.
@Dante of the Inferno
I totally agree. I think that Joseph (the author) went a bit over the lines with that comment.
@Dante of the Inferno
I'm not sure either of you understand the word "first."
@dantzig
I'm not sure you understand the concept "developing software and its issues".
@mascarpone
Ha, bit of a red herring, but you're right; I may not, but I do understand copy & paste. I would think it would be fairly simple to add the word "Bicycling" to your app and have it behave exactly as your "By Car" and "Walking" options do, having already put their bicycling route data on the web. Buzz was released simultaneously for desktop and mobile, and they had to build a new app from scratch for that. It's just silly to me that a "mobile first" company adds bicycling routes to their maps, but you have to either bike with your laptop or some 8.5x11's folded up in your sweaty pockets.
@dantzig
the fact is that what they are doing is a HUGE database update. It is one of the most faliure-prone operations you can do in the IT worlds, so thumbs up to google for walking on eggshells.
Google Maps can show you how to get to China, checkout what this guy mapped from Minnesota: http://priorityresults.com/blog/driving-directions-from-china-to-priority-a-google-maps-api-exploration/#more-318
*Checking to see what biking routes are in Las Vegas*
Man... I gotta watch that movie.
@ernie
HA! Same here I just added it to the top of my Netflix Queue
have anyone noticed that multi-riders bike at the the end of the bikes convoy? how do get my hands on one of these??
@oriharel http://www.gadgetspage.com/cars/the-seven-person-tricycle.html
for the time being,
@Lord Vader
lol lord vader, that made my day!
i was using google maps periodically today and saw this feature, but for some reason it never really sunk in because i guess its just something i thought they 'shouldve' had for a long time now.
Yay!
I also might add a link to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqp0DxeF5Ec
This is great! Hope it hits the UK maps soon...
@jwshale http://www.opencyclemap.org/
@whiskers True! And indeed http://www.cyclestreets.net/ is a great start too. It is still good to see a huge company like Google taking some interest in cycling though.
You know I wish they'd sort the public transport directions over here in the UK. Right now they're total shit.
@Charlie Eggwhite Wish we could just add them ourselves!
I love the idea. Since the weather has turned warmer, I haven't driven my car in 2 weeks. Too bad I have already found 3 flaws with the local rail trail, a major one at that.
@iMODeverything File a bug report.
whoa look at that blue trace and sharp corners. Didn't know Tron light-cycled in Pennsylvania.
this is cool, i use http://gmap-pedometer.com/ sometimes for running routes and it works really well
Gimmie some Hector's Hot Dogs!
Wait was that Morpheus on a bike?
Looking at those directions above, no bike rider is going to go around the cemetery and park, were cutting through it!!
So happy! I've been waiting for this ...
If I'm right this has been out for a while, including bus and walking directions.
@TacoMusic
I think you're wrong. Public Transit and Walking options have existed, but AFAIK bicycle routes are brand new.
Cool! Mad props to Google. Unfortunately it didn't uncover anything new for me, just the same old "your bike route to work sucks", but that's okay, I already knew that.
For those who haven't tried, it's incredible hard to find bike-friendly routes by combining PDFs of local bike lanes and trails with street maps and Google Earth. Zooming way in and stepping screenful by screenful down every road to look for bike paths, freeway undercrossings, and to see if there are little paths or trails to get from one place to another where a road doesn't conveniently go.
Unfortunately at 28 miles each way it's really only feasible during the long-daylight summer hours. For now, I'll still to the motorbike.
I have been dreaming about this for a long time.
I feel bad for the route that they have to take to the squirrel hill cafe. thats a huge hill.
The "its" in the headline should be "it's."
Haha! I've never seen the movie Quicksilver, or the trailer. At 1:38, I thought the guy would say, "When you have nothing left.....................all you really need..................is a BIKE!"
the directions are a bike route to the SQUIRREL CAGE!! hahahaha.. Any Yinzer knows how funny this is.
This is one of the GREATEST news this year!!! I love you google!!! :)
It's was such a pain in the @ss figuring out long distance bike route with 3rd party sites that used Google Maps APIs in the past. Hopefully this will make it easy. I'm just wishing there will be a way to export navigation rout from this into format understood by my Garmin Edge GPS
@Lord Vader
well i was mapping directions for the quickest route to the hoth shield generator...so bicycle, maybe?