Im looking for any and all advice for new riders. Also, I live in city with deeply carbrained, bike-averse infrastructure. What are the best ways to stay safe on the road?

• follow general defensive driving advice
• get some cheap led chargeable lights, a set to “see” and another to “be seen”. A taillight especially. These are often required by law (as is a bell, too)
• avoid main/direct routes unless there is separated bike infrastructure. If you’re on side streets and back roads, you’ll run into fewer drivers. These also usually have lower posted speed limits, so hypothetically you’re not mixing with fast-moving traffic
• don’t wear headphones while cycling in traffic; you don’t want anything interfering with your senses in case of trouble
• a reflective, high-vis vest is a cheap investment
• “take the lane” when you need to. If you try to ride the shoulder and it disappears or has some debris, you can get into trouble
• ride on the sidewalk if you need to, but don’t be a dick to pedestrians
• always have gear for quick, common field repairs: spare tire tube, tire levers, Allen wrenches, hand pump
• use hand signals
• I try my best to avoid pissing off asshole drivers. Let agressive drivers pass you, ignore anyone who shouts at you, etc
• assume drivers don’t know when you have the right of way

Hell yeah

For road safety, it depends on where you live. Some places are way better than others.

The safest thing is to get off road, get on designated paved paths, dirt trails, gravel trails, of course, and since you’re doing this for fitness that might be more of an option.

When on road, trying to make your ride safely away from cars is the usual goal. Physically separated bike paths are best. Some places allow sidewalk riding but then you can’t go fast. Low traffic areas with good visibility and few intersections.

When you are around cars, defensive riding is your friend. You want to be highly visible and not push your luck. You want to avoid confrontation and road rage. It doesn’t matter if you’re right and they’re a jerk, what matters is you’re on a bike and they’re in a multi-ton killing machine. High viz clothes are good and often very practical. Wear a decent helmet and wear it properly. Casual group rides can give you safety in numbers and if you get real into it you can do more serious group rides that teach you group riding skills and etiquette.

In terms of your bike, make sure your brakes are always in great condition and they have good stopping power. Practice stopping quickly so you get a sense of how to have control. Make sure your bike is generally tuned up and everything is torqued to spec. For example, seatpost should not be too loose or too tight. Handlebars, headset, and stem + handlebars are safety critical. If you get frong fenders make sure they have safety tabs.

If you ride at night, reflective clothing, front light, and tail light are important.

A varia or similar tail light is a nice to have if you also get a head unit. People say will tell you when cars are approaching from behind and how close, helping you prepare to get over or be mindful. I don’t have one yet, they’re a bit pricey and I try to avoid traffic as much as possible.

I got bikepilled for years thanks to commuting by bike and living in a bike-friendly place, then I moved and got a remote job that eliminated that need so all my bike trips became “for pleasure” but actually in a bike-unfriendly place I started to get increasingly annoyed by cars to the point I ended up going to a gym where I can chat with people and only using my bike on weekends. If my bike trip is “pointless” do I really want to risk getting hit by a car?

I’d definitely recommend like I’ve seen others do and get yourself a taillight and headlight. I use mine day or night.

I’ve recently upgraded to a head headunit + radar enabled taillight. I don’t think it’s a requirement but it’s such a massive upgrade for my sanity. Really helps you determine how close, how many cars, and whatnot without looking behind constantly.

Depending on what your saddle looks like on your road bike and geometry you might want to think about bib shorts at some point or some kind of padded short. Took me a while to get over myself and just own the Lycra look when I’m using my road bike for fitness versus my other bike with racks and stuff for going to town and hauling groceries.

I’d also recommend trying like ride with GPS or some tool to plan your routes. Helps you find roads / trails and paths that avoid congested areas. Even though I’m a more confident rider with traffic and things now, it’s a lot safer to try and plan ahead and try and avoid spots you know drivers are gonna be an issue.

While I’m thinking of it, helmet for sure. Virginia Tech does a helmet ranking and there’s some helmets on there that aren’t tremendously expensive but perform really well. Don’t think it’d have to be a 5 star rated one but one that scores well is a good idea.

Everyone else has had great tips, most important thing is to enjoy it! For me it lets me get out and do stuff in a way walking around and running never could.

After hiking, becoming a full-time bike commuter was the best thing I ever did for my health. Especially with an ebike you can really precisely control your cardio exertion while building up core muscles. I get to be active every time I leave the house, and that ride is as mentally enriching as it is physically.

In addition to what Simpletailor said, safety gear is essential. I wear a high visibility crash jacket with reinforced elbow/back/shoulder/chest pads, crash gloves with wrist guards/finger webbing/reinforced pads, and a full face helmet to protect my jaw. I also assume every car has a distracted driver who wants to hit me, giving them as much space as possible and waiting for them to pass. I’m especially cautious with intersections, residential streets exiting onto a road, driveways, parking lots, and at night. At night I refuse to touch roads and stick entirely to bike trails/sidewalks.

I got a stationary bike as well . I should use it more :3