Originally Posted by
ct-vt-trekker
I've found that if there is a MUP then Google Maps ALWAYS choses this route. Too bad there isn't a way to unselect routing on MUPs.
I prefer roads most of the time.
Also it will route to unpaved roads which I sometimes don't like to ride with my road bike. The only way I've been able to determine if the road is paved or gravel is using street view.
You say ALWAYS, but IME it's not so. It probably varies with area, but I find that it won't go far out of the way to use an MUP, so it's easy to avoid MUP routing by using start and ends off to the side of the path.
It's also easy enough to modify the proposed route by drag and drop.
I don't use google maps for my local area, except to calculate miles, but have to say that it does a decent job picking the same routes I would for many routes. I checked my daily commute which I do one of 3 basic ways, and Google maps nailed one of them down to the last turn.
Otherwise, I'm old school and prefer to use regular maps for route planning far from home. Maps show other info, such as rivers, and road type that I can use to gain insights to terrain and traffic volume.
Like any single tool, Google isn't perfect for everything, and is seriously lacking in some cases, but it's pretty decent overall.