Apple Maps Now Offers Cycling Directions Across All 50 U.S. States

[bruno7]

Well, I'm glad they're trying to catch up with the competition but it'll take ages...

Check the Czech app called Mapy.cz - it gives you live traffic, public transport, cycling routes, hiking routes - and in winter there are even cross-country skiing routes with updated conditions.

And there are offline maps for the whole wide world if you fancy that.
Only US maps take up like 24GB though... 😜

I use this app almost solely when traveling to Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy. Sometimes together with Waze when it seems the traffic is getting more difficult.

Just give it a try, I reckon you'll like it, too.

 

[svish]

Great to hear. Hope it becomes available in more areas outside US.

 

[ForkHandles]

I ride some 6000 miles a year. Unless Apple Maps has a way to plan bicycle routes I can save and upload to my Garmin Edge for TbT navigation, the feature is pretty irrelevant. Probably more useful for casual cyclists and commuters I suppose. I’ll never use it. I think every cyclist I know couldn’t care less about the feature for iPhone. Even those who use a iPhone as a bike computer are going to use Strava or RideWithGSP (and both have basic free services that are adequate for TbT navigation).

I’m guessing Apple doesn’t know anything about heat maps, something that is rather standard for cycling route design with RideWithGPS and Strava.

Komoot. Every time for planning great bike rides in Europe, peer reviewed editable courses. Miles ahead of Apple and Google as they only do this one product.

 

[aleksander]

SARC ON: Really, you think they could handle the most bycle-friendly place on the planet?

Kidding aside, they really are late to the game here. In Europe, I never use apple maps, it's hopeless frankly. Rumour had it that they would take 10 years to catch up to google, well it's been at least 10 years and they are ages behind still... Unless they build an index of the internet as google has, I wonder if they will ever be able to catch up frankly... Maps are really much more than simply the streets on a page...

The most depressing fact is it's all there to be taken! Already input by thousands of users and updated by the day. It's called Openstreetmaps [facepalm]

 

[Samford]

In Brisbane Australia I find Cyclers App works very well, automatically finding the most cycle user friendly routes on good roads and bikeways. When searching for routes it gives a cycle friendly route score and is often over 95% friendly routes are really found. Yes Strava and RidewithGPS are usefull.

 

[spinedoc77]

I wish you could see the GPS map when in cycling mode, all I can get is a list of directions.

 

[surfzen21]

If an e-bike makes the difference between someone riding or not riding I'm all for it. I'll be 64 this week and ride a regular bike, but hope to continue riding for decades. If it means switching to an e-bike at some point that can't be worse than not riding at all and just waiting to die.

Makes sense and yes, some riding is way better than no riding. I'm guessing you're talking about the pedal assisted e-bikes and not the full e-bikes.

Pedal assisted are nice for really long rides.

 

[zorinlynx]

I did a few test routes and I have to say I'm pleased. When I turned on "Avoid busy roads" it came up with routes almost identical to what I choose myself when biking around the city. There were a few cases where it put me on a busy arterial road when it didn't have to, but only for less than a mile or so in each case.

It's important to remember that cycling is very different from driving. Unless you're a spandex-clad extreme enthusiast, cyclists generally want to avoid busy multi-lane stroads and prefer quiet side streets. It's good to see apps providing routing for them.

 

[philstubbington]

could it offer cycling directions in Amsterdam, that would be neat.

Do they have bicycles in Amsterdam? 😂

 

[adville]

I wish you could see the GPS map when in cycling mode, all I can get is a list of directions.

Agreed. Every ride, I consult the Google Maps layer with bike routes to plan out a new and different ride, but never use directions.

 

[RaceTripper]

Do you know which or some apps that do? None of the apps I’ve tried suggest a route I would describe as optimal/best for cyclists — I have not used Strava in awhile, maybe I’ll try it again. Also, plenty of times cruising/recreational routes are loops (i.e. start and finish are the same spot). More specifically, planning new recreational routes.

I don't ever plan any routes using my iPhone. For years I have used the RideWithGPs webapp on my MBP to design routes. Once I pin the route it gets synced to my Garmin Edge 1030 for TbT navigation. I have also used the RideWithGPS app on my iPad Pro to design routes, but it's a bit klunky and the UX isn't as good....but it works in a pinch.

I use Strava to track all my rides, but don't use its map creation features. I know people that use Strava to create maps and it seems to work well enough for them. Some people I ride with use an iPhone to record rides with the Strava or RideWithGPS app, but I prefer using a Garmin.

I guess the best use case for Apple Maps as a cycling tool is for commuters and casual cyclists. I don't see it getting used by the more serious recrational cyclists. Some of us are interested in sensor data, etc and Apple Maps is unlikely to see that kind of integration.

 

[RaceTripper]

...


And, in some cities, bicyclists are required to use the road:

Laws & Ordinances

Rules of the road for bicycle riders.

www.sanantonio.gov

Which can make it a lose-lose, possibly creamed by motor vehicle or swerve around/nag pedestrians who ignorantly/stubbornly walk the middle of paths or groups that span the width.

If only there were rules/guidelines to aid everybody with consistent expectations. 😉

In my state, it's illegal for cyclists to ride on sidewalks in any commercial district, and some cities ammend that to include all sidewalks. I live near the City of St. Louis limits, where only kids 14 and younger are allowed to ride on sidewalks (but the state restictions for commercial zones still apply to them as well). In any case cycling on sidewalks is a bad idea and dangerous.

 

[TTTedP]

Do you know which or some apps that do? None of the apps I’ve tried suggest a route I would describe as optimal/best for cyclists — I have not used Strava in awhile, maybe I’ll try it again. Also, plenty of times cruising/recreational routes are loops (i.e. start and finish are the same spot). More specifically, planning new recreational routes.

Garmin and Strava do popularity routing now. Both can autogenerate suggested routes based on this but will include roads with cars - no avoiding it. RWGPS will have good curated routes others have created. Komoot gets good reviews but I think it's used more in Europe than US?

Cycling the "best" route comes down to local knowledge none of these apps can capture.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Yay! Now I can get lost on my bike, too! (Just kidding ). Apple Maps has come a long way...(no pun intended).

 

[zorinlynx]

In my state, it's illegal for cyclists to ride on sidewalks in any commercial district, and some cities ammend that to include all sidewalks. I live near the City of St. Louis limits, where only kids 14 and younger are allowed to ride on sidewalks (but the state restictions for commercial zones still apply to them as well). In any case cycling on sidewalks is a bad idea and dangerous.

It really depends. If you're trying to ride on a very busy four lane stroad, the sidewalk ends up being the safest place. I really don't like absolutists that say "YOU MUST NEVER RIDE ON THE SIDEWALK" because there are many cases where the road just isn't safe.

One example is Tamiami Trail or Coral Way in the western parts of Miami. Yeah, screw that, you'd have to have a death wish. We're talking either no bike lanes and 50MPH+ traffic, or being on a very narrow bike lane wedged between 50MPH+ traffic and a guard rail.

 

[parseckadet]

In my state, it's illegal for cyclists to ride on sidewalks in any commercial district, and some cities ammend that to include all sidewalks. I live near the City of St. Louis limits, where only kids 14 and younger are allowed to ride on sidewalks (but the state restictions for commercial zones still apply to them as well). In any case cycling on sidewalks is a bad idea and dangerous.

Riding on sidewalks being a good or bad idea depends on the area. Here in Denver many sidewalks are considered trail "connectors", meaning the cities/counties have declared them to be a part of the bike trail network. These are on the side of a road just like any other sidewalk, but are wider than usual, and from what I can tell they have very few business entrances except at signaled intersections. Most cities around here also allow you to ride on the sidewalks, except in business districts as you pointed out.

 

[RaceTripper]

Riding on sidewalks being a good or bad idea depends on the area. Here in Denver many sidewalks are considered trail "connectors", meaning the cities/counties have declared them to be a part of the bike trail network. These are on the side of a road just like any other sidewalk, but are wider than usual, and from what I can tell they have very few business entrances except at signaled intersections. Most cities around here also allow you to ride on the sidewalks, except in business districts as you pointed out.

I was referring specifically to regular pedestrian sidwalks. Greenways are another matter. They are wider and are meant for bi-directional multi-use (heels and wheels). I use them all the time. We have a pretty decent system of them here.

Disregarding bike commuting for the moment, which has its own issues/challenges, as a recreational cyclist I think it's very rare that cycling on a narrow pedestrian-only sidewalk is a good idea, and often not legal anyway. As for busy, fast arterials, I don't use pedestrian sidewalks to avoid riding on the road, I just avoid the road and find better alternatives. Riding some 6k miles/year I almost never find a reason or need to ride on a sidewalk.

 

[hondo77]

Have you used cycling directions on Google Maps? Its pretty awful.

Yes I have. A lot. While Google Maps isn't perfect, it is a great starting point. I just checked a simple bicycling route in Apple Maps. What I got was breathtakingly terrible. It turned a 23-mile ride into a 26-mile ride by adding crazy turns from a great road onto terrible roads (with no shoulders, natch) and then back onto the good road. How do I know those roads have no shoulders? I used Google's Street View because Apple Maps didn't offer their Look Around where I live.

Using Google Maps' cycling route as a starting point, combined with Street View to make sure I have room to ride, is a winning combination and I can plan great long rides with it. If Apple can't get a short 23-mile ride even close to right, with no Look Around available, it's garbage to me.

 

[RaceTripper]

Komoot. Every time for planning great bike rides in Europe, peer reviewed editable courses. Miles ahead of Apple and Google as they only do this one product.

Oh great, now Kamoot ads are showing up on my FB time line. It’s all your fault. LOL 🤣

 

[jimbobb24]

There are a lot of paved bike trails not included in maps where I live. This is one area I think connected crowd sourcing could give the data pretty. If cyclists consistently ride there …. It must be real so mark it on the maps and make it available.

 

[Filligans]

Apple Maps enthusiast?

 

[Pugly]

Pretty happy about this, I'm a bike commuter and I'm curious about Apple Maps. But without the bike directions, was largely useless to me.

I just put in two destinations I regularly travel and it found a route I hadn't considered yet, and Google's route was pretty bad I never bothered using. So far looks pretty good.

 

[NigelJordann]

Still waiting for The Netherlands. Aren't we like the country that use bikes the most?
The only app I am not using currently is Apple maps. Wish they had reviews like Google and cycling for The Netherlands

 

[BGM]

As long as they offer directions to the Coffee Shops ….

i mean only tourists go to those tbf

 

[bigchrisfgb]

This is probably wishful thinking, but I’d love it if Apple (and Google) start providing height and weight routing info for RVs and trucks.

Yes, and if they were able to implement tachograph regulations into it as well, then it would be great for CarPlay. Many trucks these days come with CarPlay but they obviously lack those restrictions. Here in the U.K. I find that Tomtom are good for dedicated truck satnavs.

Also here in the U.K. and indeed Europe we have tachograph limitations on driving time, which I understand there are similar system in the USA, and Canada. It would be great if they worked around those and have you warning about them. Some trucks over here do give you prior warnings, but they do not give you warnings about the working time directive. An all in 1 from Apple would be a real game changer.