Finding Bicycle Trails

We have these special new bikes – they’re foldable so they fit in the van, or on the special racks that Jim made. And, they’re electric so we don’t have to worry about getting tired.

We want to ride them!

How to turn on the Map View for Bicycle Trails

We’re in the Tampa area and have 2 free days to play, so I used Google Maps to find some bicycle trails. You may know about the Google Map feature that will create a route for bicycles instead of cars by tapping the little bicycle icon instead of the car when you’re getting directions, but did you know that you can turn on a “layer” that shows you all the bicycle trails in an area?

On a phone: You’ll find the “layer” icon in the upper right of Google Maps on a phone. It looks like this: 

Once you tap it, you’ll see options appear at the bottom of your screen, including a button for “Biking.” When it’s on, you’ll see green lines on your map representing bike paths.

On a computer, you’ll find this option under the 3-line menu, then click Bicycling.

How to see Street View of the Trails

I saw green lines at Fort De Soto park. The green lines are great, but I wanted to see Street View.

On phone: drop a pin by long-pressing somewhere on the trail. Once the pin is selected, you should see a picture with circular arrows in the lower left corner – tap on that to see Street View.

On computer: drag the “peg man” from its place in the lower right corner to a spot on a road and drop him off, that will take you to Street View.

Using Street view, I could see that the bike trail was separate from the road – wonderful! Let’s Go.

One reply

  1. Great! I am a long time biker. I grew up on them. I also have been a long time EV enthusiast. I have followed John Wayland and the White Zombie since about 1990. We have also used electric chainsaws and other tools since 1978. I have a high school friend now living in Ocean Shores, Washington that rides his electric bike daily on the beach. Some day we should look through my collection of EV pictures taken at NEDRA and other events.

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