Suggestions for bike routes to add?  Email us info@getdowntown.org

I did see what it might say for my normal bike commute, and it was pretty good.  I come from the West Side and normally bike on Washington, which is the first suggested route it gave me.  However, what Google doesn’t know is that there are some non-motorized paths I take that make the trip a little nicer for me.  Still, it’s really cool that these directions are now available.

Thanks to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia for posting this.

Here’s how Vicki describes herself:

As an AdWords associate for Google, I assist AdWords advertisers with their accounts and online marketing strategies. I graduated from Yale University with a degree in Sociology. I hail from Oakland, California and love to babysit, play Ultimate Frisbee and make bad jokes. (Mostly puns.)

Here’s Vicki’s Post:

Hybrid is the word of the day

This summer, yours truly will be playing with a club ultimate Frisbee team in Ann Arbor called Hybrid. To commute to those practices, I just bought a sweet Trek Multirack Women’s Hybrid bike in April. It’s no surprise that I’m also considering purchasing a Hybrid vehicle somewhere down the line. When I decide to have a kid, it’ll only be right to name her Hybridia, or Hybrid if he’s a boy.

I recently moved to Ann Arbor to start work with the Google office, and chose a friendly, family neighborhood apartment about 2 miles away from the office. During the winter and snow, I rode the Ann Arbor city bus downtown (go 9 and 9U!). Dragging myself out of bed in those below freezing temperatures was only made tolerable because of the bus drivers Ted and Dorien I met along the way. I just thought about how early they had to get up, and suddenly it didn’t seem so bad for me. Riding the bus with my fellow commuters in silent solidarity against the wind and sleet was actually a very unifying experience, but for the sake of sunshine, let’s fast forward to Spring and allow me to tell you why my commute is a hybrid commute, and not just a slushy snowy bus ride.

Last month at the start of Spring, I was ecstatic to finally wear short sleeves again and don my Wonderwoman helmet to break in my new bike. Riding west on Washington St. and seeing kids play roller hockey on the street and dogs chase obese squirrels up trees is downright blissful. After being indoors in an office building for most of the day, breathing fresh air and seeing playful creatures (both kids and squirrels alike) keeps me sane and grounded. I’m an outdoors person, and I’ve been known to chase a squirrel or two. Having that time before and after work to see and think about all things nature is really a necessary part of my day.

Commuting to work is all about choices, and I can’t ride to work every single day, but I can choose to diversify my sustainable commute options by using a hybrid strategy of self-powered commute options: riding my bike, using the bus system, and occasionally the nice long walk. An added incentive that pushes me to use sustainable commutes on rainy days is that Google supports the Self-Powered Commute program, which earns my nonprofit of choice $5 in donation for each day I walk, bike, or bus to work.

The short story is that I’m glad it’s Spring and I’m glad I get to bike again. I’m also glad for fat, but speedy squirrels, otherwise that Spring scene wouldn’t be quite as pleasant. Perhaps I can fit the chunky monkey squirrels with mini Hybrid bikes, so they can get some hybrid variety in their happy little lives too.

See you on those biking lanes!

Vicki