Northeast - What Happened to RidetheCity.com?

The Web site is still up, but it looks to have taken a severe blow. All I can view, now, is the bare-bones map. What happened to satellite-view? This once-great site appears to have lost a great deal of usefulness.

The Web site is still up, but it looks to have taken a severe blow. All I can view, now, is the bare-bones map. What happened to satellite-view? This once-great site appears to have lost a great deal of usefulness.

First off, until I read your post I was not aware of this website. With my caveman WebTV, I really can't do much with maps and satellite views. I did notice that the owner of the site has a blog and that he/she did indicate that he made a change in his base map (whatever that is) recently.

Making use of satellite views and routing while very efficient, to me takes away some of the mystery, spookiness and opportunity to discover things on my own. Armed with the 2009 map yesterday, I still stumbled around Brooklyn and Queens trying to find all the pieces of the bike route. Although this can be often frustrating and inefficient, I can tolerate it as it has been the paradigm by which I've experienced most of my life. What's neat is the collateral information that comes about while you're wandering about aimlessly. I really didn't appreciate that the Jamaica Line, A 8th Ave/Fulton Street Line and the E,F Queens Boulevard Line are not really all that far apart. Today I was in Staten Island and stumbled upon the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial, which I was totally unaware of. I found it to be quite moving.

Pushing high tech to an extreme, I wonder if anyone has come out with a handheld cyling simulator? At the press of a button, you could be doing laps in Central Park artfully dodging pedestrians, old geezers riding Huffys, or tourists disrespecting our hallowed bike paths. Or you could be on the Brooklyn Bridge without a bell playing chicken with a group of tourists who are walking in the bike lane. Think of it, all the fun of bike riding without working up a sweat or burning up brake pads.

First off, until I read your post I was not aware of this website. With my caveman WebTV, I really can't do much with maps and satellite views. I did notice that the owner of the site has a blog and that he/she did indicate that he made a change in his base map (whatever that is) recently.

Making use of satellite views and routing while very efficient, to me takes away some of the mystery, spookiness and opportunity to discover things on my own. Armed with the 2009 map yesterday, I still stumbled around Brooklyn and Queens trying to find all the pieces of the bike route. Although this can be often frustrating and inefficient, I can tolerate it as it has been the paradigm by which I've experienced most of my life. What's neat is the collateral information that comes about while you're wandering about aimlessly. I really didn't appreciate that the Jamaica Line, A 8th Ave/Fulton Street Line and the E,F Queens Boulevard Line are not really all that far apart. Today I was in Staten Island and stumbled upon the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial, which I was totally unaware of. I found it to be quite moving.

Pushing high tech to an extreme, I wonder if anyone has come out with a handheld cyling simulator? At the press of a button, you could be doing laps in Central Park artfully dodging pedestrians, old geezers riding Huffys, or tourists disrespecting our hallowed bike paths. Or you could be on the Brooklyn Bridge without a bell playing chicken with a group of tourists who are walking in the bike lane. Think of it, all the fun of bike riding without working up a sweat or burning up brake pads.

To my thinking, a map isn't an supposed to be an opportunity to "maintain mysteries": it's a tool one uses to help oneself get around, and the clearer and more eloquent it is, the better. If things look cluttered, of course, I'll switch from satellite-view to terrain-, but, the satellite option (as well as that of "street-view") is great, and I much miss its presence on RidetheCity.com. I hope they bring it back.

>>>Making use of satellite views and routing while very efficient, to me takes away some of the mystery, spookiness and opportunity to discover things on my own.<<<<

Interesting comment. I felt the same way when I was mapping out a recent ride to Liberty Island in New Jersey. While using Google's "street view" feature was very helpful to determine what streets would be safest for my wife - not such a great rider - it also burned me out on the ride before I ever hit the street. As landmarks came up during the ride, it was as if I had been there before...

>>>Making use of satellite views and routing while very efficient, to me takes away some of the mystery, spookiness and opportunity to discover things on my own.<<<<

Interesting comment. I felt the same way when I was mapping out a recent ride to Liberty Island in New Jersey. While using Google's "street view" feature was very helpful to determine what streets would be safest for my wife - not such a great rider - it also burned me out on the ride before I ever hit the street. As landmarks came up during the ride, it was as if I had been there before...

I'm sorry you had that experience, but thanks for posting it here, as it reassures me that I am not totally off the wall with my rant about high tech.
I also don't think that I would have the courage or gumption to undertake a ride if I knew what a drag some parts of it were.