Comments on: National Bike Summit – Google Announces Bike Routing http://ribike.org/2010/03/10/national-bike-summit Working to make cycling in the Ocean State safer and more enjoyable for YOU Wed, 23 May 2012 13:57:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Labann http://ribike.org/2010/03/10/national-bike-summit/comment-page-1#comment-33892 Labann Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:59:33 +0000 http://bikeprovidence.org/?p=1291#comment-33892 To get to Newport during the week (only, no weekends), a rack-n-ride bus picks you up at the park-n-lock stop on Route 1A at Rt. 138 and leaves you at Town Centre, Newport. Make sure you have a couple dollars in change, or forget it. The only alternative is to ride over the Mt. Hope Bridge in Bristol (which is very bumpy, narow and unpleasant) then choose one of several equally dangerous routes to your destination. There are some circuitous ways to thread the island's back roads including Burma and Middle Rd. All of them are somewhat hilly. I've routed many rides for people using Google set to "walking map", then tailor, then email to them. I know from an encyclopedic knowledge of RI where every dog and hill is. I've always said, "Climbing builds, coasting thrills." Hills do slow your ride, but fast smelly traffic clogs flats. To get to Newport during the week (only, no weekends), a rack-n-ride bus picks you up at the park-n-lock stop on Route 1A at Rt. 138 and leaves you at Town Centre, Newport. Make sure you have a couple dollars in change, or forget it. The only alternative is to ride over the Mt. Hope Bridge in Bristol (which is very bumpy, narow and unpleasant) then choose one of several equally dangerous routes to your destination. There are some circuitous ways to thread the island's back roads including Burma and Middle Rd. All of them are somewhat hilly.

I've routed many rides for people using Google set to "walking map", then tailor, then email to them. I know from an encyclopedic knowledge of RI where every dog and hill is. I've always said, "Climbing builds, coasting thrills." Hills do slow your ride, but fast smelly traffic clogs flats.

]]> By: James http://ribike.org/2010/03/10/national-bike-summit/comment-page-1#comment-33873 James Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:25:22 +0000 http://bikeprovidence.org/?p=1291#comment-33873 I tried out the bicycle directions on google maps this afternoon, to see how it would work. I had to go from Kennedy Plaza to the 1300 block of Mineral Springs Ave in NP. I had only been there once before, and the route I picked on my own worked pretty well: mostly on Charles St., but with a bit of a big up hill going up Mineral Springs. This afternoon, I went with google's suggestion and took Douglas Ave most of the way. Douglas is a little more narrow than Charles, but not too bad. The best part was at the end - I still had to go up the hill, of course, but Googlemaps directed me to back streets for that, and this route was less steep as well. I've been trying it out some more this evening, entering a few possible trips into the directions finder. It seems to be handling it okay. I hope to bike to Jamestown and/or Newport one of these days, so I tried entering that. Of course it directed me over the Newport bridge, which I'm pretty sure is forbidden for cyclists. (Jamestown Bridge is as well, right?). I would have been shocked if the step by step directions had said something like, "Dismount and wait for the XX bus to take over the bridge" I tried out the bicycle directions on google maps this afternoon, to see how it would work. I had to go from Kennedy Plaza to the 1300 block of Mineral Springs Ave in NP. I had only been there once before, and the route I picked on my own worked pretty well: mostly on Charles St., but with a bit of a big up hill going up Mineral Springs. This afternoon, I went with google's suggestion and took Douglas Ave most of the way. Douglas is a little more narrow than Charles, but not too bad. The best part was at the end – I still had to go up the hill, of course, but Googlemaps directed me to back streets for that, and this route was less steep as well.

I've been trying it out some more this evening, entering a few possible trips into the directions finder. It seems to be handling it okay. I hope to bike to Jamestown and/or Newport one of these days, so I tried entering that. Of course it directed me over the Newport bridge, which I'm pretty sure is forbidden for cyclists. (Jamestown Bridge is as well, right?). I would have been shocked if the step by step directions had said something like, "Dismount and wait for the XX bus to take over the bridge"

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