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So I recently started biking again on a regular basis, not hardcore road cycling, but beach cruising as it were. Aside from cruising at the beach, Phoenix is the next best place to cruise. Prior to Google Maps I used Yahoo! Maps to figure out my routes. I prefer whenever possible, to ride within residential neighborhoods rather than the main streets. It’s safer, quieter, and much more visually appealing. On more than one occasion I could’ve mapped much safer routes through neighborhoods but was never sure if there was a bridge or pathway over the residential lake standing between me and my destination. Enter Google Maps. As far as I’m concerned, the Satellite view is the best feature to hit online mapping. Along the way I’ve found a few lakes with bridges simply by chance, but now I can know definitively if the route is a dead end or not. I just flip over to Satellite view and voila… bridge or no bridge.