Cosmoline

I use Google Earth to find a lot of shortcuts. I've found that maps tend to be very inaccurate when it comes to bike paths and side roads--showing proposed ones that never got built and overlooking de facto routes across empty lots and the like.

Roody

I've done this too. Sometimes you can't see the actual paths on the satellite photo. But if there is a place you want to go in the city, chances are that somebody else wants to go there too, and they've already created a path. If not, it's pretty easy to make your own path. Of course, you should have a mountain bike to take advantage of a some of the best "secret paths."

Platy

I made it from Austin to Georgetown on a route scouting trip yesterday. I'm not as strong a cyclist as some others here. The trip took me past my "point of no return in the same day" so I wound up doing a spur of the moment overnight tour. As my significant other said today, now we know how far Grandpa can go on his bike, ha.

I haven't seen a specific bike route between Austin and Georgetown posted on the Internet. That's what got me interested in scouting one. I found bike route solutions for most of the way. For a few segments the routes I found aren't ones I would feel comfortable recommending in public postings because they involve riding with fast traffic, no shoulders, or on sidewalks against traffic.

oldroads

Old Maps...
I'm in the process of scanning my collection of old maps and putting them on-line.
There are so many abandoned roads and rail lines all over the US. They all are great for exploring.

Here's the new site:
https://menotomymaps.com

Lamplight

I simply use side streets and neighborhoods often times to get where I need to go nearly as fast (faster?) as all the motorists taking the main roads. Most of these streets are hardly used at all. It's like people here only know one way to get where they need to go, so the main roads are constantly jam-packed with cars while I easily zip around it all on side streets that are mostly deserted. On the one road here with a bike lane I sometimes get to fly past a long line of cars that are moving very slowly simply due to volume. Sucks for them.

gerv 

These maps won't find you any hidden paths, but I frequently use the state bike maps to locate low-traffic routes out of town. Great for summer-time tours on the weekend. The suburban map for my area -- at least the online version -- is pretty useless though.

https://www.iowadotmaps.com/msp/pdf/bikemappdf.html

I think most states publish these maps for cyclists.

Platy

Not Texas. The TxDOT doesn't even keep a statewide data base of road widths. Shame on them.

Roody

I love old maps too, but I never thought of looking for bike routes on them. Good Idea, oldroads.

I liked your blog too. Cool how you made it look like the LOC map site.

Roody

It looks like they're interested in doing bike route maps though, or at least a demo project. Maybe you can help them out?

I agree with gerv that published bike route maps can be a good way to get started. They also help if you're riding to a part of town you don't visit very often. The one for my town, published by the Tri-County Bicycling Association is a pretty good one. You can find one for your area by googling <bike route maps cityname>.

!!Comatoa$ted

Somtimes if you check your library you might find lots of old maps of you area showing roads that no longer exist and hidden railbeds which are really nice to ride along.

Platy

That demo project was done by a research institute at Texas A&M. TxDOT never followed it up and as best I can tell has no plans to ever do so. I see TxDOT as being anti-bike in a passive-aggressive sort of way. In its defense, this merely reflects the mainstream of Texas thinking.

A carfree person is somewhat limited in route scouting ability, but I do what I can. I posted that Austin to Georgetown route (with all its shortcomings) on a local bike wiki last night and it got 62 hits in less than 24 hours.

Roody

True, and it's not just Texas. I don't think we'll ever have good bike facilities, including government maps, until civil engineers and traffic planners start riding bikes. And that won't happen anytime soon....which brings us back to the original idea of finding your own secret routes, or learning them from fellow cyclists.

If you're carfree I guess it's harder to scout out long routes, like between cities. But it's easier to scout out secret routes within your own city. The bike gives you the freedom to get off the car-beaten track. It just amazes me the scores of beautiful wild areas that you can find in the heart of the busiest cities. And so many of these wild areas are fantastic for serious bike travel as well as recreation.

jim10040

In Dallas Texas, I had a funny experience. I heard about a bike map for Dallas, and eventually found a phone number to call and buy one (about $9 at that time). When I got the right department, I just asked how I could order one. The lady asked where I lived, and it showed up in the mail a few days later. No concious money involved (Dallas Taxes, of course). The map is not really out-dated but a few years old, and the marker signs are still there. These are not secret by any means, but considering how much a bike is used for transport in Dallas, they might as well be. I LOVE Google maps, and never even thought of using it as a route finder.

bigpedaler

+1+1+1!!!

exploring town is the way to go -- first, you find these fascinating new ways to travel, and you're ON YOUR BIKE; it's a no-lose situation! my old commute had a dozen different ways i could go, and only during the first 1/4-mile and the last 1/4 mile would they all be the same. most bottlenecked for he first/last 1+miles, but in between that was party time! a lot of it had to do with how much time i wanted to spend; unfortunately, during the last 1 1/2 years at that location, there was so much to do at work, i couldn't afford the extra energy! now, with the comute a quarter of what it was (new work location, same employer), i HAVE to look for the long way (oh, the humanity, ... yeah, right).

ohh, it is largely about the journey, but i find that some sort of destination is a good motivator.