A couple days ago I was cycling from Bertrange to Bridel where I had an appointment. It was only 10km, I had enough time, so I decided to follow the cycling path suggested by Google Maps (recently they launched a new service).
First, everything was fine. I’ve crossed Strassen, found a bike path leading to the forest. And then, all of a sudden, the asphalt surface ended. Voilà: (a bike path, according to Google Maps)
I rode as far as it was possible, until I saw huge stairs (the place definitely lacks a sign “Vélos à mains s.v.p.” :)).
After exploring the further way by foot I eventually decided to carry my bike up to the hill. There, behind a small bridge above the A6 highway, a normal cycling path begins. Well, normal for mountain bikes 🙂
How I love my tires! They forgive me all my adventures. All the way through the forest (several km) was like this. It’s fine if you have a mountain bike, but with thin tires I would strongly recommend not to go there 🙂 Finally, I’ve arrived to Bridel, with delay, but arrived!
To sum up, Google Maps is very good. And the idea of online cycling path maps is awesome. But at the moment (July 2013) the service is still “raw”, at the stage of beta-testing. If you’re planning a bike trip, don’t rely on it.
On the website of Google Maps you can report about places that are not suited for cycling, as well as unmapped bike paths. Let’s help Google to improve the service! All in all, we’ll do it for ourselves and other cyclists.
One Comment