Why I love Google Earth

I took a short 20 miler after work today. I normally work 1/2 days on Fridays and today I was actually able to get out on time so I took a ride repeating most of the route around Mission Trails Regional park that I last posted about. Here's a Google Earth image from part of the route.

















You get a real feel for the type of terrain this route is in. I climbed just over 2,000 feet in the 20 miles so it is quite hilly. Depicted is the path along Highway 52 up and through Mission Trails Regional park. This was one of the nicest rides I've been on in a while.

Three quarters of this ride is amazing. Unfortunately, the last quarter is through very congested streets requiring you to bypass several freeway entrances. The high speed of the vehicles and the heavy traffic makes this a risky endeavor. I'll keep looking for the best route.