Google Map Directions and Modes of Transportation

Not to seem as a Luddite, but I personally prefer paper maps and Road Atlases. For riding on the crazy road patterns in Boston, both on my 14 mile commute as well as longer training rides, and even planning Centuries, my favorite map is the metropolitan Boston map of the AAA. It covers a very wide swath of the metropolitan area yet is detailed enough to choose very nice secondary roads. When I need a particularly detailed view, I consult a road atlas mapping all the streets of the metropolitan area. I'm not particularly interested in riding MUPS.

My goals on training rides are specific distances, and the crazy-quilt roads here make programs like MapMyRide difficult to plot a distance. Rather, I have drawn concentric hash marks on the map for radially-oriented distances of 10, 20, 30, 40 miles from my home, so I can plot a loop of a specified distance. Furthermore, a paper map can be carried in a pocket (as would be a download from Google) though I am seriously considering a GPS, because, as mentioned, the road patterns here are so weird that even on a bike I always get lost on a new route.

When I visit a different city and ride a bike, I still use paper maps. Usually I’m visiting a city on business so my cycling time is limited and confined to the downtown area. Furthermore, I usually ride early in the morning so traffic is not a concern. Just as an aside, I'm even reluctant to personally ask local non-cyclists for directions, because often they're unaware of our special concerns even as “vehicular cyclists,” or conversely a “road warrior.”

I do like Internet maps (personally I use MapQuest), because there are so readily available, but I use paper maps to actually plot the route. When we did a cross-country bicycle trip back in 1977, State Highway maps guided us nicely to our destination from start to finish.