The "Map Tools" page is my solution to the unfortunate design limitations of Blogger, and my inability to spend much time generating work arounds vis-a-vis making the toolbar look better.
Google Earth is an important application, which is, as some of you know, highly addictive. You can't figure out where you are going until you see what's there - and that's what Google Earth allows you to do. Give up your family, friends and other hobbies to play with Google Earth--by all means. Google Maps is the methadone of map addicts - it will suffice, but it isn't the real thing. On the other hand, Google Maps offers Google Transit, which is a way of finally finding out when that bus or train is coming, without dialing a call center and waiting for 23 minutes to get information. Mapquest and Yahoo Maps seem to provide generous amounts of information, although some of the rural-area mapping is a little thin.
What kinds of Bike Trails exist in the U.S. and everywhere? Start by looking up the trail on Wikipedia, to see if it has its own page. Other possibilities include finding the official page for the municipality, township, boro, borough, town, city, village, city-county, county, shire, province, state, department, canton, district, region, oblast or country in which the trail or route is located.
New mapping applications are always being developed. Various park services around the world have mapped their parks with varying degrees of specificity for the average civilian park user. A great example of helpful mapping is the tools provided by the National Trails of the United Kingdom. These show you, in great detail, enormous amounts of information for each section of trail, including lodgings, historic sites and transportation connections.
