Butch,
Thanks for the reply. It looks like there are probably a number of locations of interest (gym, downtown, etc) within a 5 mile radius, and I'm more interested in knowing if I can use a bicycle for transportation than in purely recreational rides for distance.
If you get ice and sleet mixed with snow, it sounds like if I bring a bike it should be the mountain bike (canti brakes are good; I also have studded tires for winters in PA).
Here, the roads without shoulders typically have multiple lanes (occupy one lane with the bicycle, plenty of space for everyone) or are older streets with low speed traffic. Of course, if you are riding to the same destinations others are driving to, you're going to places with traffic, not out of the way to get away from traffic.
Broad St looks like it has many lanes and probably high speeds. I guess I'll see if suburban drivers tolerate bicyclists on roads without shoulders. Most drivers here figure it out, a few get angry.