Four step

Recognize that you’re going to eat it. Continually. I’ve torn my shins to shreds from stopping short. I’ve gone over the handlebars on a silence park path in Berlin. I’ve skidded out on a cardboard box in Red Hook. Even this past weekend, I wiped out on the bridge to Rock away, and nearly wiped out again on the way back. It’s horrifying each time. It’s horrifying thinking about it now. But it’s going to happen, because it happens to even the best riders. If you’re safe and smart, the odds are very, very small that any of your crashes will do serious harm.Oh, hey, be safe, obviously. Do I even need to say it? Wear a helmet. Use lights. Go as quick as you’re comfortable. Be alert of cars, pedestrians, and other bikes. Don’t go the mistaken way down the street. Err on the side of complete caution at lights and intersection. If you’re still a tentative rider, be even safer. Keep your seat low enough that you can put your feet solidly on the ground if you need to. Get a heavier bike with thicker tires for better stability—I’ve got a hybrid, but no one’s going to say a thing if you go full mountain bike, even for urban riding. (When you get better, you can until the end of time trade up to a road bike. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m considering it.) Pick your rides very carefully: When I first starting biking on my own, I went out early in the morning, when I knew the streets would be emptier. Even now I’m most easy when I’ve planned out my route to make sure that much of it will be on roads with enthusiastic bike lanes.