Google Maps launched biking directions in 2012 for Europe, and now the service has enabled the popular feature for Germany, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

According to a post on the official Google Europe blog on Monday, Google Maps has expanded biking directions and added bike trail information, recommended routes and hundreds of kilometers of paths through the help of Google Mapmaker users and partner organisations. 

Read: Google Maps expands biking directions in Europe

To use biking directions, just grab an Android device, switch on the biking directions legend and "Bicycling" layer, and ask Google Maps for directions. The service will then serve up the best route, time estimates and turn-by-turn navigation for cyclists. 

Those who would like to browse a more-challenging trip can check out Google Maps' suggestion for the Tour de France. It maps out 206 car-free kilometers near the Atlantic Ocean - rather than recommend the N10/A63 for cars. 

"We know that many avid cyclists have been awaiting this feature," wrote Google Maps on its blog, "so head over to Google Maps and click ‘Get directions’ to try it. Then hop on your bike!" 

Google Maps announced in August 202 that it would bring biking directions to mobile, allowing cyclists to navigate around the UK and other countries from their smartphone. The feature followed the company's launch of bike routes on the desktop and included 10 countries initially with more than 330,000 miles of green biking lines.