Wow, I guess I'll have to read the online version of the article to see the readers' comments. I read the story on newsprint -- yeah, I'm a walking anachronism.
Anyway -- I disagree about there being no cyclists in Detroit. Darn few compared to all those bike-friendly places we keep hearing about, I'll admit. As for worst place to cycle, well, yes and no. There are wide avenues to bike. And then there are the routes where you take your life in your hands avoiding the potholes. Agree on the utter lack of bike lanes -- I didn't know we had any at all.
If Pipes lives just south of Detroit, that puts you in one of the following -- River Rouge, Ecorse, Melvindale, Lincoln Park -- I can understand that riding the major roads in these cities would be difficult, due to the truck traffic, and winter road salt pulverizing the pavement, and little money for street repairs. I'm from Lincoln Park myself.