If you’re a cycling enthusiast based in Europe, one of your dreams might have just come true. As of today, Google has included biking directions in Google Maps for 6 additional countries.

Cyclists based in France, Poland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein can now enjoy Google’s new biking directions on Google Maps. You will now have access to routes that integrate biking trials, biking paths and biking road lanes; to get you to your destination safely. You can plan your biking route via Google’s desktop application, mobile application and Chrome application.

You will also have access to Google’s turn-by-turn navigation, just like you have when using Google’s navigation application on Android when in the car. Google have also implemented a new biking layer to their maps, this shows biking directions in a layer above the map when searching for a specific location. You can turn on the biking layer in the layers menu, if you want to view nearby biking trials, biking paths and biking road lanes.

When you select biking directions you are automatically provided with a route, which avoids busy streets and sends cyclists the safest route, including biking paths and lanes.

Google have spend years working with organizations to map all of the bike paths in the countries that already have access to Google’s biking navigations, however it’s only natural that they missed a few somewhere along the way – so if you locate one of the ‘hidden’ biking paths, you can add them to Google’s maps by reporting a problem, within the Google Maps application.

• SourceGoogle Europe Blog