At last, Google Maps caters to those who get around on two wheels – in particular, on a bicycle. After all, searching for the best biking route in town can prove to be quite a challenge, which is where the latest version of Google Maps for Android comes in handy. It will deliver mobile biking directions as well as navigation to 10 countries where desktop biking directions was launched last month, namely Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Some of the other features thrown into the mix include turn-by-turn capability as well as voice-guided biking navigation to Google Maps Navigation (beta) in every country that has biking directions. All you need to do is mount your device on your bicycle’s handlebars and then you are able to get a clear, unobstructed view of the turn-by-turn directions and navigation. Alternatively, you can always rely on the speaker-mode to hear voice-guided directions.
Dark green lines on the map will dictate the dedicated bike trails and paths that do not have any motor vehicles, while light green lines depict streets with bike lanes. As for dashed green lines, those point out streets that are recommended for cycling. Biking navigation will also help you avoid steep hills, so it would be interesting to see how this would work in San Francisco. Needless to say, add a dash of common sense when you use Google Maps for Android when biking as there might be some folks out there in a car or other 4-wheeled vehicle who decide to infringe upon your bicycle lane, so it pays to be vigilant at all times.
Filed in . Read more about Google and Google Maps.