When using the available web mapping sites for directions, what is provided is usually the quickest or shortest route from point A to point B. This, of course, comes as no surprise and is what users expect. The results assume that the user will be travelling by car - which isn’t always the case. byCycle looks to find the best or safest route for cyclists, taking into consideration such things as hills and vehicular traffic. byCycle draws on municipal data and overlays that information on a Google Map. “Designed to be ‘the MapQuest for bikes,’ byCycle’s online trip planner allows cyclists to plot bike-friendly routes across town. Enter starting and ending addresses, and the planner plots a bicycle-sensitive course between them. Click anywhere on the map, and the Web site gives the nearest intersection. Choose two points, and the Web site calculates the best biking route between them.” The site is current limited to 3 U. S. cities: Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Portland, OR.

Read about the site in the Portland Tribune.