With spring about one week away (March 20), Google announced its newest gadget. In addition to car, public transit and walking directions, you can now find bicycling directions on Google Maps. Talk about all inclusive.

You might be thinking (as I was), “Won’t biking directions be the same as driving directions?” In some cases, yes. In other cases, Google actually takes into account bike trails and roads by utilizing information from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The biking directions also steer you clear of freeways and major roads.

It sounds like a fantastic tool, but will it really be beneficial to avid cyclists? At this stage in the game, maybe not. There has been quite a bit of negative buzz since the announcement was made, not in regards to the tool’s purpose but, instead, about its accuracy. Not a cyclist, I can’t draw any beneficial conclusions, but, apparently, Google still needs to do some digging to come up with the best routes for every area.