Nevertheless, I learned how to ride a bike a year ago, inspired by a bike-only vacation (what was I thinking?) and post-Katrina gas prices. And a hate for all things car-related (I’m a NYC transplant in Durham, NC, where a car is a must). Now, I ride my bike everywhere– farmer’s market, whole foods, bookstore, cafe, etc., and am going on another bike-related vacation. So if I can do it, you most definitely can!

Here’s how I first started out — I had problems with balance and stability. I rented a mountain bike from a local bike shop and practiced on grass (definitely less ouch that way). A friend of mine who’s been biking for a really long time and has taught lots of other people to bike suggested that someone hold the bike for me in the front (holding the handlebars and front wheel) and I sit and pedal backwards, getting a feel for how the bike should be balanced. My boyfriend, who was helping me out at that time, told me that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. And he was right. Once I got a feel for balance, I did not have problems riding the bike. I did have problems getting started, though. Part of the problem was that I was riding a mountain bike, which has way too much traction and is really, really hard to get started. The other part was that when you start off, you have to balance yourself really quickly, and a mountain bike was not helping, nor the fact that I didn’t feel secure unless I sat down first with both feet on the ground, and you have to start off standing on one foot! But with time comes practice. So I got a bike that allowed me to have both feet on the ground, and didn’t give me such a hard time — it was a hybrid, with all the smoothness of a road bike and minimal necessary traction of a mountain bike. My advice is to do what you can do to make yourself more comfortable riding a bike; in time confidence will come.

I haven’t tried folding bikes yet, so I don’t know if they are better or worse. I will, however, recommend a brand that might be good for starting out. Electra makes bikes with flat feet technology, which means less problems with balancing and starting out. I wish I had started out with an Electra; it’d have made my life a little easier than that mountain bike. Unfortunately, many bike shops are unlikely to rent out Electra bikes, so you might have better luck trying out a borrowed or used Electra.

Good luck in your bike endeavors, and feel free to ask me for help.

The easiest bike is called a road bicycle, and it’s not a mountain bike… but it’s similar to the kind we have in Japan… so, where a mountain bike is a normal car, and a foldable bike is a sports car, the road bike is a reliable, bigger, heavier oldsmobile. It’s nice though. The balance is good and it usually has a basket or two. I rode around Greensboro on my grandmother’s bike, you know, with no speeds and back-pedaling breaks. (And there were like, maybe two other bikers in Greensboro, semi-redneck town with lots of people hollerin’ “GET A CAR”… I think Jersey (yes? or NY?) is safer…)

You need to get over the “I’m too clumsy to do this” thing and just believe in yourself. Don’t get discouraged. It takes a bit to figure out how to balance, but once you’ve got it, it will never leave you. If your hub knows how to bike, let him stand behind you while you figure out your balance… or see if you can’t get training wheels. (I know, lame. But it’ll save you if you fall.)

Let me know if you need help… I bike everywhere (even places I can take the train…)

And how do you keep your license if you don’t have a car? In NC, you have to have a car first, then insurance, and then you can get your license… and you pay insurance every month, regardless of whether or not you have a car. Total BS.