Google recently added bicycle directions to Google Maps after a few years of grass-roots lobbying. The popular Web site started by offering driving directions, expanding later to add transit routes and pedestrian navigation. Now, the site suggests routes classified by off-street trails, separate bike lanes and designated bike routes. It also tries to avoid crowded intersections, busy streets and hills.
The system still has a few hiccups, but users can submit corrections to Google's data. Sometimes it significantly overestimates the time it should take to ride somewhere, and sometimes it suggests routes that are out of the way or are not really available for cycling. In addition, it can only be used for 150 U.S. cities. Nevertheless, it is still an easier system than most other similar programs.
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