Go Green Tip of the Day: Mon 6/23: Find Safe, Easy Routes to Travel by Bike

Find Safe, Easy Routes to Travel by Bike

By Collin Dunn
Corvallis, OR, USA | Fri Jun 20 13:38:00 EDT 2008

Use these tips to make it easier to navigate busy cities by bike

Traveling by bicycle is about the greenest way to get around -- bicycles are the world's most efficient vehicles, after all -- but navigating city traffic during rush-hour can be a daunting, intimidating task. If you're in a new city, and aren't familiar with the nuances of navigating its streets or finding good bike lanes, another degree of difficulty gets added. Happily, there are a handful of services to make it easier to safely get where you want to go on two wheels.

MapMyRide makes it easy to find safe routes via its Google Maps interface. It offers a trio of services: ride mapping, which creates a route based your start and end address; route finding, which shows you popular routes and trails near your location; and log training, which makes it easy to track your routes, monitor your mileage, and log your training schedule. There's even a forum community, where you can share your ideas, trade tips, and more.

For more location-specific data, check out BikeMetro in southern California. The handy site offers routes and tips for navigating Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino and Riverside counties, as well as chances to meet and talk to other cyclists in the area, organize bike rides in their online bike communities, and even find out how many calories can you burn riding to work, and how much pollution do you create driving to work.

In the New York City area, NYC Bike Maps and Ride the City have you covered. Between the two, they offer boro-specific mapping, route-finding, and ideas for scenic tours around the city. Want to find the best ride around Central Park? How about the fastest route from the Lower East Side to Midtown? They've got you covered.

For those who are just looking for some recreational riding, check out Pedaling.com and Bikely.com, who both offer myriad options for two-wheeled mobility. Search by area, difficulty level, street or mountain bike rides, family-friendly rides, and share your favorites with fellow riders. Between all of these, there are tons of tips, ideas, and resources to make getting around without a car easier than ever.

Difficulty level: Easy