There won’t be hordes on two-wheelers Friday in metro Detroit, but motorists can expect see a few more cyclists for Bike to Work Day.

Organizers registered 200 riders, "but those are just the people planning to get a T-shirt — a lot more than that are going to be out there,” organizer Todd Scott said. A lot more cyclists are out there every day, in fact, as the Motor City catches up to other urban areas in cycling, Scott said.

Swelling the trend are young professionals moving to the city’s downtown and Midtown, more students living on campus in Wayne State University’s new dormitories, and the addition of designated bike lanes to thousands of miles of streets in Detroit and its suburbs during the last decade.

Read more:

AAA will rescue you now — if you are on your bike

Need a ride in Detroit? Soon you can share a bike

“We actually doubled the number of bike shops last year in Detroit, from seven to 14. Isn't that incredible? And we got one additional one this year — Metropolis added a second shop this year in West Village," he said.

As executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, Scott leads a nonprofit group that promotes safe routes for cycling and walking. Safety is an issue when a cyclist atop a 20-pound bike shares a road with 2-ton cars and 10-ton trucks and buses.

“I always say, the best thing (for drivers) is just give cyclists some space. Try to give 5 feet. Bikes don’t have air bags,” he said.

Michigan's death toll for cyclists has soared from 21 in 2014, to 33 in 2015, and 38 last year, according to Michigan State Police, although virtually none of those killed was riding to work, Scott said.

Design improvements make today's bikes more comfortable and durable for commuting, said Jon Hughes, owner of Downtown Detroit Bike Shop at 412 Peterboro near Cass, just south of the WSU campus.

On Thursday, Hughes sold a $1,000 Jamis Komodo mountain bike. Its 3-inch tires — called plus size in bike lingo — make the bike as good at bounding over urban curbs as it is at traversing woodland trails, he said.

The buyer? James Hill, 58, of Southfield, who said he commuted 11 miles each way by bicycle for years to his job at the Royal Oak Post Office. But Hill, now retired, won't be riding to work on Friday.

"Now, it's just for pleasure, and for exercise," he said, adding that, while others are riding to work, "I'll be hitting the trails."

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com