According to the League of American Bicyclists, there are some 57 million Americans who ride a bike, all of which will now be able to map their daily commute, check out side trails, or any other biking activities without getting lost. Why is that? Google this morning announced it has added biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps.

And not just a handful of trails in select cities, either, but a whole new biking layer that differentiates between bike trails, bike lanes, and bike friendly roads. By partnering with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Google said it was able to provide information on bike trails in more than 150 cities, including thousands of miles of trails.

"The demand for trail maps and information has never been higher, especially as more people recognize biking as a viable, inexpensive, and healthy alternative to driving," says Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin. "Sharing our trail data is an exceptional way to introduce the world to what 150,000 RTC members and supports already know -- biking is the ideal way to ge where you're going. The addition of biking directions to Google Maps makes life easier for bikers, whether they are commuting to work or biking for fun, and it can introduce our network of trails to a whole new audience of cyclists-to-be."

If you want to try it out for yourself, hit up http://maps.google.com/biking. You can access the biking layer via the "More..." drop down menu, which will then display an overlay of the different biking areas. Dark green indicates a biking-only trail, light green means is a dedicated bike lane along a road, while a dotted green line means it's not an official bike lane or trail, but is probably suitable for biking based on terrain, traffic, and intersections.

Microsoft's Bing Maps Silverlight version is growing up fast, so much so that Microsoft is taking it out of beta, the Redmond outfit announced this week.

Not everyone will see the changes right away, and instead, Microsoft is planning a slow rollout. Within a few weeks, everyone in the U.S. should see the Silverlight maps by default. In the meantime, the AJAX site will still work, and users will be able to toggle between the two versions.

This is a pretty big step for Bing, one which some would argue puts the search decision engine ahead of Google in the maps arena. Because it's powered by Silverlight, it's a more robust experience than Google Maps, allowing users to seamlessly switch between maps, satellite images, and detailed aerial photos. But is it a Google Maps killer?

Not quite. Google Maps still has some features that Bing doesn't, like better local searches with Place Pages. And while Silverlight is what gives Bing Maps an edge, it also means installing a plug-in that you might not have otherwise wanted.