Mayor Tom Menino's quest to turn Boston into a world-class cycling city took another step forward today as the city officially announced plans to add bike lanes to the busy stretch of Mass. Ave between Symphony Hall and Boston Medical Center. The decision was announced officially at the Boston Bike Week event at City Hall Plaza this morning.

Harvard Square to the Phoenix offices via bicycle, according to Google.

I'm a recent-ish convert to the world of bicycle commuting, and as such, I've often wondered if I've been doing it right. Specifically, is there a faster route I could be taking to get into work? Now there's an easy way to find out: Google has added a "bicycle" option to Google Maps, which seems to look for things like bike paths and areas with clearly-indicated bicycle lanes.