Google Bicycle Maps

So I was going to a client's party this Sunday in Orinda (a city east of Berkeley for people who strike it rich, have kids, and want to get away from the rest of us). Not having a car, I looked up the new Google mapping service for bicycle routes. From the map, it looked as if I could reach my destination in less than two miles from the Orinda BART station. Orinda has hills, so I took my Serotta -- a hybrid bicycle made of titanium and carbon fiber which weighs 17 pounds. Walking up and down the BART steps with this bicycle is much less work than carrying a portable computer on one's back (or an infant plus stroller, which I've seen some struggling moms do).

All was well until I reached the turnoff for the client's road. Google bicycle maps does not give elevations. The road started at an easy grade -- maybe 12 percent (remember, my bicycle is light and I ride the Berkeley hills several times a week) -- but then things became horrific, as in a Sisyphysian nightmare. The grade went up to at least 17 percent, which is something I do once a week on my regular rides, but only for 100 yards or so. So I plugged into my lowest gear (I have a compact, not a triple, which i find degrading because I used to race and still have the mindset of a racer sans the body) and stood up. 

After a while, I saw the hill was going to keep rising at this grade, so I did something more degrading than using a granny gear. I stopped and got off the bicycle and started walking. Slowly. A fit woman walker passed me and my bicycle. When the grade finally relented a little, I got back on the bicycle and spun in my lowest gear. But then the hill did another Everest, so I got off, stripped off my jacket, and started walking again all the while cursing the idiots who built this road.

I managed to get back on near the top of the hill, which is where the house was located, and ride into the courtyard in style. The house was about 800 feet up, and less than a mile from the main road. If Google bicycle maps had told me the truth, I think I would have missed the party or found a ride with friends. Indeed, I bummed a ride home with a guy who had a big truck.

Good thing Google doesn't do hiking routes...yet.

Comments

[Russelltripp]

Sounds like Maps needs to hook up with Google Earth data to provide elevation data for bike routes - pretty obviously important info for real-world bike rides.

[JM]

Why did you hitch a ride back? Sweet downhill...

[32100]

Try http://mapmyride.com in the future, it uses Google Maps but incorporates elevation.

[bud]

I'm pretty sure the info google maps is using for bicycling is based on traffic only. Not elevation data. Possibly they know of dedicated bike lanes and are bringing those into Googles Bike Maps, but generally, I think it is an algorithm looking for low traffic lanes, with posted low speed limits, where I biker might be relatively safe, or legally allowed.

Check out a Google Bike Map for a city that is dominated by car culture and has almost no bicycles. It is different than in bike friendly towns.

[S. Z. Underwood]

I live in West Berkeley but ride my bike often to Orinda and up and down the hills in Orinda for training, both the eastside of the Berkeley Hills (El Toyonal) and the hills just east of Orinda Village (Camino Sobrante).

Google Earth will show you the relative elevation of your starting point (Orinda Bart) and your end point. As an experienced cyclist, your estimate of the grade does not seem accurate. 10% is a very steep grade. It implies climbing about 530 feet per mile which very few roads in the Berkeley Hills sustain for any distance. 12-14% is extremely steep, not at all gradual. Note on the link I supply below, Marin Ave. from the Marin Circle to to Grizzly Peak works out to an average grade of 13% overall (with steeper blocks).

Moreover, if you look at this information from the so-called Berkeley Hills Death ride website, scroll down to "Death Climb" #4, you will note that the climb from Orinda Village up to Grizzly Peak steam trains averages 8% overall -- I think its the hardest climb in the East Bay Hills. At one point, the road sustains a 15% from a kilometer which is exceedingly steep (4-6 mph climbing).

http://www.inl.org/bicycle/deathride.html

[steve m]

Marin's steepest throws are 24% I believe, and I've done the climbs mentioned and there are many stretches of 15%, indeed a hill behind my house is 13% for .8 mile. Moeser in El Cerrito is very steep but it is wide and little traffic, whereas Marin is narrow and lots of traffic will be passing next to you. Averaging from Orinda Village to steam trains is meaningless because there is flat at the start and flat at the top. I rode up it in very high winds at 2mph with my chest on my top tube (if I stood I would have blown over).
steve

[Kelly @ Impowerage]

At least you got a good work-out though