It's hard to write about the new bicycling tool at Google maps without prefacing the term "bicycle route finder" with such adjectives as "amazing," "cool," or "way cool," but I'll try.

Sweepstakes

First, Google maps made the official announcement of the biking directions tool with a Google Share Your Ride Sweepstakes complete with a $2,500 voucher for American Cyclery. Win by simply posting links your routes to Twitter.

Here's what Google says about the project at The Official Google blog and the Google LatLong blog.....

Various reactions to the long-awaited announcement regarding biking directions on Google maps:

Andy Clarke, League of American Bicyclists (Google made it "official" during the opening session of LAB's National Bike Summit):

“This new tool will open people’s eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding. We know people want to ride more ...

The long wait is over for bicyclists who want to use Google maps to find the quickest, safest way from Point A to Point B.

Google maps launched a Beta version of its direction finder for bicycle routes on Wednesday. (See the "How to" video on the jump.)

The biking directons release comes in conjuction with the opening day of the National Bike Summit in Washington DC.

Folks who use their bicycles for commuting and running errands have been advocating for Google to add a layer for bicycles to its "Get Directions" function for cars, public transit and walking.

A petition started by Peter Smith at Google Maps 'BikeThere' received more than 50,000 signatures from bicyclists who wanted the service.

Google had hinted that the project was underway back in October 2009 when it announced that it had added 12,000 miles of bike paths ....

Hincapie, Farrar and Cavendish on tap in Italy

Universal Sports kicks off its 2010 pro cycling coverage on Wednesday with Italy's Tirreno-Adriatico, followed up through the season with the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana along with other cycling events.

The partnership of NBC Sports and Intermedia Partners says it will offer at least 10 premiere road cycling races this year on its broadcast and online platforms.

All races will be available live online at UniversalSports.com; same-day coverage will be provided on cable at Universal Sports stations in major TV markets. ....

Two things about the front bicycle racks made in a small Fort Collins, Colorado, shop caught the eye of a New Belgium Brewing Co. designer:

-- The racks used beetle-killed wood from Colorado's forests;

-- The racks could hold a case of beer.

So the beer brewery, which supplies cruiser bicycles to charities and its new employees, ordered 2,600 front racks from the shop for its new line of New Belgium 2010 cruisers.

That's a gold strike for Carver Surf Racks owner Orlando Baker ...

This weekend's Seattle Bike Expo, the largest consumer bicycle show in the US, has landed at yet another location this year.

The Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91 in Magnolia is the new home for the all-things-bicycling show, open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Here's a link for easy bicycling and driving directions. Car parking (2,500 capacity) costs $5 and the exhibition hall is about a half-mile walk; a shuttle bus also will run during the show. Secure bike parking is provided by BikeWorks right at the entrance.

From the Eastside, I'll probably head across .....

After the Paris-Nice peloton battled gusty winds for more than 100 miles, Team Sky's Greg Henderson won the Stage 1 sprint by slipping past Lampre's Grega Bole right at the finish.

Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia) attacked the field with less than a mile to go in Contres, but couldn't sustain the long sprint.

Prologue winner Lars Boom of Rabobank remained in the yellow jersey as Levi Leipheimer (Team RadioShack) and Alberto Contador (Astana) dropped to 7th and 8th in the overall standings after suffering crashes. They started the day in 3rd and 4th place ....

Lance Armstrong finished the Vuelta de Murcia on Sunday in 7th place behind winner Frantisek Rabon of HTC-Columbia; Armstrong's  plans include adding another race to his Tour de France preparations.

Meanwhile, his Team RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer opened the Paris-Nice bike race with a third place finish in the prologue, 6 seconds behind Lars Boom of Rabobank. The race will roll across France through Sunday.

More action unfolds this week as the Tirreno-Adriatico rolls out Wednesday for seven days across Italy. Highlights will be streamed live on the Universal Sports website.

Regarding his 7th place finish, Armstrong told reporters:

"Worried would be too strong of a word. ....

HTC-Columbia's Czech time-trial champion Frantisek Rabon won Stage 5 of the Murcia bike race on Saturday and took the overall lead, as Lance Armstrong climbed into 7th place.

The Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia across southern Spain ends Sunday with a 75-mile stage that's expected to end in a mass sprint.

Elsewhere, the week-long Paris-Nice bicycle race starts Sunday in France, and Tirreno-Adriatico rolls out Wednesday for seven days across Italy.

While top racers struggle for top finishes in the Murcia bike race, most eyes are on Armstrong. RadioShack manager Johan Bruyneel made headlines ...

Travelers driving between Chicago and LA used to get their kicks on Route 66 before it was essentially decommissioned in the 1980s with the emergence of the Interstate Highway system.

Now some surviving portions of the Mother Road in the Midwest have become destinations for bicycle tours while other abandoned stretches are being considered for bicycle trails.

The old highway, which dates back to 1920s, sounds like a great place to travel by bike today -- in places. It wends across the landscape visiting small towns and passing the old-timey car culture claptrap of art-deco-style motels and diners bright with neon.

Elsewhere, of course, it's buried under freeways, becomes part of a frontage road system ....

Former Sun Microsystems general counsel Mike Dillon has embarked on a cross-country bicycle tour after finishing the months of work to hammer together Sun's acquisition by Oracle.

Since Oracle's completion of its acquisition at the end of January, Dillon already has purchased a Bruce Gordon Rock n Road touring bike, flown to Jacksonville, Florida, and is five days into his journey back to Silicon Valley.

A cross-country ride is something he's wanted to do for years, he says at Mike's Blog, and now he's got the opportunity to do it:

"I’ve decided that the immediate “what’s next” for me will be to ride my bicycle across the U.S. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was in college .....

Take it from me; don't poo-poo the bike ride over to Poo Poo Point on Tiger Mountain east of Seattle.

After easily tackling the Chilly Hilly bike ride Sunday on Bainbridge Island, I made the quick decision a couple of days later to pedal my Rockhopper over to the launch point for those paragliders I've seen soaring south of Issaquah.

Quickly checking my Green Trails Map for Tiger Mountain, I saw the trailhead of the old logging road was at 1,400 feet elevation and my destination was 1,780 feet. I should have looked at the route more closely, instead of rushing out of the house. Or, checked with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance wiki for Poo Poo Point. ...

Some of Washington's state legislators must have been distracted when they were told that cellphone use delays a driver's reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol content of .08 percent, which can earn you a DUI.

The State House legislators voted to ban texting and cellphone use by 16- and 17-year-olds and make texting a primary offense for adult motorists. But adult handheld cellphone use is still a secondary offense, meaning you've got to be breaking some other law to be pulled over.

As a vulnerable road user when I'm on my bicycle, it constantly worries me that the motorist behind me might be more concerned with the cellphone call than what's in the road in front of him, namely me. I've read too many news reports of bicyclists killed or injured .....

Bicycle historian David V. Herlihy has wrapped up another book, "The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and his Mysterious Disappearance."

You probably remember Herlihy's previous work, "Bicycle: The History." That heavily researched and interesting book recounted not only the technological advances of the bicycle from the draisine to modern times, but also told us about pioneers in the field and the social impact of two-wheeled travel.

In his latest effort, Herlihy examines the around-the-world bicycle journey of bike racer Frank Lenz of Pittsburgh (that's Lenz at right in India in 1893).

Setting off in 1892 aboard a "safety bicycle" with inflatable tires, Lenz traveled the globe for two years before disappearing forever in Turkey.

In an email, I asked Herlihy why he chose ....

Lance Armstrong returned to pro cycling at the Vuelta Ciclista a la Regiona de Murcia on Wednesday, more than a month after completing the Tour Down Under.

But it was Robbie Hunter, riding for US-based Garmin Transitions, who supplied the sparks to the first stage of the race across southern Spain that ends Sunday. 

The South African won a bunch sprint at the end of stage 1, beating the likes of Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Daryl Impey (RadioShack), among others ....

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter joined a special club on Tuesday -- "Pols Who Love to Ride Bikes and Have the Abrasions, Contussions and Fractures to Prove It."

Members include other governors, some mayors, and even a president.

Out riding with some friends Tuesday morning, Ritter apparently touched wheels with the bicyclist in front of him and crashed to the pavement.

Spokesman Evan Dreyer said the governor bumped his head as well, but was wearing a helmet. He spent several nights in the hospita for treatment of the broken ribs and previously undisclosed separated shoulder.

We're glad that Ritter is OK. He's been seen riding at the Elephant Rock Ride and has been talking to Lance Armstrong about reviving the Coors Classic.

But Ritter is just one in a long string of elected officials who have been injured in bicycle accidents ....

Jerry Nelson is hitting the road again.

Two years ago I wrote how the 50-something Navy and Vietnam veteran was riding his bicycle cross-country to find some peace of mind and talk to veterans groups about services offered by the Veterans Administration.

Now, Nelson plans to set off from his home in Asheville, North Carolina, on March 19 on a new quest -- to raise funds for the homeless and homeless veterans and to raise solutions about the problems of homelessness.

A photographer by trade, Nelson writes at his website:

"Everyone is already aware of the homeless problem in this country. It's on the news, in the paper and, if your city is anywhere near typical, you see homeless every morning on your way to work or maybe each evening on your way home...or both.

"Every state, county and municipal government has a plan to reduce homelessness within its political area of responsibility. Folks just need to be made aware .....

Right on the heels of the record-breaking Chilly Hilly presented Sunday by the Cascade Bicycle Club, I stumbled across news that a couple of charity rides in Central Washington have been canceled in 2010.

The biggest shock came from the Mike Utley Foundation, which was canceling its popular Dam2Dam bike tour in Wenatachee because of economic stresses.

On a somewhat better note, Group Health Wine Country Trek and Group Health Yakima Ridges bicycle tours in the Yakima area have been discontinued after 8 years because the events fulfilled their funding targets for a community skateboard park ....

We all know South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford as the guy who told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when instead he was paying a visit to his Argentinian mistress.

Now his wife, Jenny Sanford, has published a book, "Staying True," that tells her life with the governor.

There's one odd episode involving a bike. Here it is as reported by a columnist for the Winter Haven (FL) News-Chief:

"On Jenny's first birthday after marriage, Mark made her a homemade card and drew half of a bicycle. She was perplexed; ...

The adoring crowds of bicycling enthusiasts at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Richmond are spent.

The lust-fest of amazing bicycles ended Sunday, leaving everyone to contemplate word that the 2011 NAHBS will be held in Austin, Texas.

Before leaving, however, the 131 exhibitors and those left at the convention center learned the winners of the 2010 NAHBS awards.

Best of Show went to Ellis Cycles, owned by Dave Wages, left. His outfit is located in Waterford, Wisconsin.

The winning bike was built for a customer in San Francisco. Wages described it as "shiny but understated" with a "classic look."

The NAHBS blog has all the other winners and details. They are:

President's Choice -- Cherubim. The Japan-based family-owned business is run by Shin-Ichi Konno ...