I tried the cool feature on Google where you can click on the route and drag it over to a parallel road or path. This opens a lot of possibilities for trying alternate routes.

As most of you know, there's usually at least a dozen ways to travel between any two points on a bicycle. And if you free your mind and trust your instincts, you can often find literally more dozens of additional routes. Services like Google bike maps are fun and useful, but they can't totally replace old-fashioned exploring in the saddle, IMO.