Best places to bike near Ann Arbor

1st choice would be to get a hybrid, mtb or cyclocross and ride the dirt roads, lots of great areas to ride with little traffic and interesting terrain.

2nd choice for me was riding from Chelsea or Gregory and riding points west and north, lots of roads with minimal traffic.  I use to drive from Canton to ride that way, but with a hybrid I just ride from home now and resort to the 1st choice.  Not to mention the cost of diesel to feed my truck has gotten out of hand and makes the hybrid a nice choice.

Island Lake isn't bad to ride and Kensington has some nice hills but some of the roads are really starting to get rough there maybe they'll repair some roads this summer for some smoother riding, but like every thing else the Metroparks revenues are down with the decline in the tax base so funds may be tight.

I don't know how far away you are from Hines Drive (I usually hop on in Dearborn) but that is a very popular cycling route with its huge shoulders and few intersections. You do have to watch for flooding, though.

Depending on where you are, Hudson Mills or Huron Meadows might be closer but I'm not sure about bike trails. (I've done a road race at Hudson Mills but never ridden there.) Island Lake SP and Kensington I know are also very popular if you don't mind paying the entry fee. Island Lake is also very popular for trail biking.

x2 on rottieguy's advice re: CX, MTB, or hybrid on the gravel/dirt roads, of which there are hundreds of miles for riding around A2.  Gorgeous tree lined roads with very little traffic.  

Paved roads around Ann Arbor that I like because they have either shoulders or low traffic or low speeds or few blind corners:

- Huron River Drive, Whitmore Lake Rd, Pleasant Lake Rd, Sharon Valley, Cavanaugh Lake, Dexter Chelsea, Seymour, M-36 (early on weekends), 6 mile, 7 mile

Here's a link to a century ride using several of those roads: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/21209732

If you want to get to Hines from west side A2 area, here's an out-n-back + lolipop I've done: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/18226528

Paved roads that I avoid because of road condition and/or traffic are: Scio Church, N. Territorial, M-52, Dexter-Pinckney, Pontiac Trail is OK but very narrow, Plymouth Road, Dixboro

Huron River Drive is awesome. 

Michigan Ave going west about three miles out from Saline is also awesome. 

Jackson Road has a nice wide shoulder west of Wagner in Ann Arbor, and can be nice too. 

Those are the best rides, IMO, near Ann Arbor and Saline.