Counts of cyclists by the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition confirm his impression. In counts conducted at three locations in the fall in successive years, the coalition tallied 437 cyclists in 2011, 511 in 2012 and 688 in 2013. A 2013 study of the 100 largest U.S. urban areas ranked Grand Rapids 12th in the percentage increase of workers commuting by bike to work from 2000 to the average number of workers during 2007-11.

Ann Arbor nudged ahead of Grand Rapids in Bicycling's 2012 bike-friendly ranking, at 39th in the nation.

Among the reasons: The Border-to-Border Trail, a nearly completed 35-mile paved bike path that runs through Ann Arbor from Washtenaw County's border with Livingston County in the northwest to the border with Wayne County in the southeast. The city has more than 70 miles of bike lanes.

Matt Yost, a salesman at the Wheels in Motion bicycle shop just east of Ann Arbor, has witnessed plenty of change in the decade he has been a cyclist.

"I'm seeing lots more dedicated bike lanes on the road, and that has led to more people feeling safe using their bikes to commute," Yost said. "When I first started, it was rare to see people cycling on days when the weather wasn't perfect. Now you are seeing more people doing it regardless."

The 2011 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey backs him up. It found that nearly 5 percent of Ann Arbor's working adults commute to work on bikes, the highest total in Michigan.

Traverse City is on the cycling map for other reasons, mostly tied to the region's spectacular combination of water and land.

Just east of town, mountain bikers ride the forested, hilly Vasa Pathway, a 16.7-mile mountain bike trail. Closer to town, mountain bikers ride a trail network that is part of the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a system of loops that take riders over streams, through forests and up hills that furnish sweeping vistas of the city and Grand Traverse Bay.

In November, riders from around the country converge on the region for the 29-mile Iceman Cometh Challenge, the largest one-day mountain bike race in the United States. In 2010, the event drew 4,700 riders, a fifth of them from 37 states other than Michigan, while generating an economic impact estimated at $1.5 million.

In 2012 west of Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore opened a 4.25-mile section of paved trail that stretches from Glen Arbor to the Dune Climb in the park. When completed, the 27-mile trail will go through Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, the Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, the Sleeping Bear Dunes visitor center and Empire.

As a city still in bankruptcy proceedings, Detroit has higher priorities than its bike-friendly status. More than 80 percent of roads in Wayne County are rated in fair or poor condition, which can make for tough cycling.

Jim Meyers, the founder of Bike Detroit, a nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization, still sees great potential for cycling in the city.

"Yeah, the roads where all the trucks go are pretty much destroyed," Meyers said. "But there are four-lane roads that are in great condition and are so wide.

"There are no cars. You can fly through — that's the beauty of the emptiness."

The past few years, Meyers has promoted a 100-kilometer ride called the Emerald Necklace Tour through the length of the city, much of it on trails through dozens of city parks and through some of the city's virgin forests. He plans the third annual version this month.

Said Meyers: "There is so much to see in this city that people don't know about."