And here come Google Maps for bikes

You're in Manhattan for a few days and you'd like to do something different. So how about cycling down from Central Park West to the trendy Tribeca area? All you need is a bike and Google Maps. Enter the starting point and destination, click on the little "Bicycling" icon and according to these Google directions, the trip is 10.2 km long. You start by cycling northwest on West 85th Street toward Columbus Avenue, and about 32 minutes later you'll be turning right at Leonard Street in Tribeca.

"Bicycling directions are in beta," warns Google. "Use caution and please report unmapped bike routes, streets that aren't suited for cycling, and other problems." This is because there have been complaints that the maps have sent bikers down the wrong way on one-way streets. As more data is added the maps should improve, however. "Even though it's not 100 percent reliable, it's still better to have it than in no form at all," Eben Weiss, who writes the BikeSnobNYC blog, told the New York Times.