Several people emailed this story to me on Wednesday and to be honest I was fairly ho-hum about it initially. I mean, Google Maps have included public transit and even walking directions for a while now so the bike stuff isn’t all that surprising. Commuting maps that take into account traffic flow, shoulder width, hills, etc. already exist in printed form so it’s about time they’re available in a digital, route-able format.

But this blog isn’t about commuting or road riding - it’s about mountain biking. After digging into the Google Biking Map of San Francisco I noticed something surprising: mountain bike trails. For example, this map (shown above) shows what appears to be singletrack in and around Glen Canyon Park.

I read a little more about the map data and found out that Google has also coded 12,000 miles of “bike trails” from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Of course many rail trails are either paved or are, at the very least, wide, flat paths but still, this is better than riding the road.

But don’t get too excited about off-street bike routes. Here’s what a Google spokesperson said after a New York reporter found himself routed onto Central Park paths where bikes are off limits:

The parks are one of the things we need to work on. We don’t have great data for them.

Map coverage is certainly limited at the moment and a quick check of my area shows some pretty questionable road choices - and no trails. Google Bike Maps may also be of limited to use to mountain bikers for another reason:

Many cyclists will tell you that going downhill is annoying for a different reason: you may have to ride your brakes all the way down. All else equal, we try to avoid routes that require a lot of braking.

Ahem, downhill is annoying? Clearly we disagree and our bike trail maps (covering almost 10,000 miles of trails) will continue to include the good stuff . Watch the video with more info about Google’s bike mapping project.

So apparently this story is getting picked up all over the place and at first I was pretty excited at the prospects: Google Street View is expanding to hiking and biking trails. For those who are not familiar with Google Street View, it basically allows you to view locations on a map as if you were standing right there on the street (or now, trail). Google collects millions of photos using a vehicle mounted camera and GPS and stitches the images together to create sort of an online virtual reality experience. Sure privacy advocates aren’t too fond of it since Google is snapping pics of innocent bystanders and private properties but that’s another debate…

Anyway, it turns out Google just mapped and posted its first bike trail - a path in Monterey, CA. The article that’s floating around doesn’t give the name of the trail but I assumed it would be somewhere awesome like Fort Ord. Fortunately this website has located the elusive Google “Bike View” trail: it’s the (wide, concrete) Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail that runs right through downtown. Ahhh, it’s that kind of bike “trail”…

The article mentions the rig that was used to get the trail shots is some sort of “trike” which I assume is necessary because the tech is so heavy (batteries, cameras, gps, etc.). Until the rig shrinks I don’t think we’ll be seeing any singletrack views anytime soon - though Google is said to be working on mapping “hiking and biking trails” in California, Italy, and the UK.

Ultimately this is a pretty cool development but I can’t see myself spending hours (or even more than 5 minutes) clicking through a “virtual trail.” I’d much rather be out there riding it!

Regular readers know I’m a nut when it comes to GPS and mountain bikes and these days it seems like more and more riders are catching the fever. The problem? Using a GPS on the trail and managing the resulting tsunami of data is still pretty complicated. That’s why I’m super impressed with the Travel Recorder X from QStarz - it’s GPS made simple.

Before I get into describing the Travel Recorder X, it’s important to talk about the competition. The latest GPS units from Garmin and others sport color touch screens and hundreds of menus and functions packed into a fairly bulky package that’s not really designed for mountain biking. The software included with these GPS units is generally just an afterthought and is often both limited and confusing at the same time. These GPS units are great if you’re looking for a multi-function solution or if you need navigation functionality but for most they are simply overkill.

If, however, you’re looking for a simple, reliable way to map trails and geo-tag photos along the way, the Travel Recorder X is your man. I have to admit that when I first opened the box I thought the Travel Recorder X was a joke - it looks just like a pager from the 1990s (minus any kind of display). The GPS has just one switch and a single button for marking waypoints and the first time I used it I wasn’t sure if the thing was even working. Still, I turned it on, tossed it into a webbed pocket on my Camelbak and rode. Back at the car, I switched the GPS off and forgot about it, not sure if it recorded anything at all.

Back at home I fired up the included software and after a few missteps installing the driver I was able to quickly download the data and to my surprise, I saw a Google Map with my exact route! The software even includes a track editor that lets you move and delete trackpoints and waypoints. You can split and merge tracks and even export your data to other formats (like GPX, KML, even HTML) for use in programs like TopoFusion and Google Earth. Seriously.

The really cool part about the included Travel Recorder software is that it makes geo-tagging and sharing photos simple. I tossed a directory of pics I snapped along the Kiwanis Fairgrounds trail into the program and it automatically placed the correct pics in the correct locations on the Google Map - done in less than 5 minutes. Sharing your geotagged pics and maps is simple too with the built in flickr, locr, and HTML export buttons (here’s a quick map I created). You can also use the Travel Recorder software to view things like speed and altitude data from you ride, among other things.

The Travel Recorder X can be paired with a PDA, smartphone, or laptop using the included Bluetooth connection which makes this little device even more versatile. Remember, there’s no screen on the device itself so if you want to use it for real time navigation you’ll need to pair it with a phone or computer. QStarz claims a 15 second satellite fix and the Travel Recorder X uses a built-in rechargeable battery. A USB and DC plug for the car are included.

If you’re still trying to wrap your head around the idea of a GPS without a screen, here’s an analogy: if the Garmin Colorado is an iPod Touch, the QStarz Travel Recorder X is an iPod Shuffle. While the Travel Recorder X may not be for everyone, it’s the best solution we’ve seen for simple mapping and geotagging photos on the trail. At just 2.2 ounces it’s also one of the lightest and most compact devices we’ve seen and includes some truly great software to boot. Pick yours up for less than a hundred bucks!