Google Maps now has biking directions

Yesterday it was announced that Google Maps will now be featuring bike directions. Which is great.

But how are biking directions different from regular driving directions?

Well take where I'm located for example, Issaquah, WA. Say I am feeling ambitious one morning and want to bike to Seattle. Well the driving directions would be straight down I-90. Can't do that on my bike.

The feature, called Bike There, gives you directions and routes that are either trails, roads with dedicated bike lanes or roads that are good for biking and allows for riders to avoid hills whenever possible.

And Bike There is really easy to use. Just head over to the Google Maps page, and just like you used to be able to pick between car route, public transporation route or walking, you now simply select "bicycling" from the drop down menu.

The official Google blog also had this to say about the feature:

We've also added information about bike trails, lanes and recommended roads directly onto the map. This can help you get a better sense of your route, or let you find trails nearby for a recreational ride. When you're zoomed into a city, click on the "More" button at the top of the map to turn on the "Bicycling” layer. You'll see three types of lines appear on the map:

-Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only trail;
-Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
-Dashed green indicates roads that are designated as preferred for bicycling, but without dedicated lanes

You can head over to Google Maps and try it out for yourself. Now what's your excuse for now biking into work?

(This is from Just Northwest)