Riding a bike can be one of the most liberating things you can ever do in your life. The bike becomes an extension of you, a part of you when your riding and it allows you to do many thing beyond the physical limitations of the human body. This instructable is going to teach you how to ride a bike the right way and how to maintain proper safety while riding a bike.

Step 1: Get a Bike

To begin with you must first get a bike to learn on. You want to get a bike that will suit most what you will do with it For Example

Street bike: These bikes are made mostly for traveling on streets, sometimes at high speeds, bike races and just travel. While these bikes do well on cement or the road, any other terrain will prove extremely difficult and will throw off even the most experienced riders

Mountain Bike: This bike was made for adventure. It can literally go anywhere. This bike is best for off-roading such as trails through a forest of through a national park. This bike can take a beating. Good for any terrain

Beach Cruiser: This bike was made for sidewalks. Basically this bike is perfect for going through a park, bike riding with your kid, going through the neighborhood, and anything like that. This bike is not a fast bike but can travel on rough terrains a little bit, such as a dirt road or hard pack dirt.

BMX: This bike was made for skate parks and doing tricks. This bike is perfect if you like being dangerous.

These are the general bikes available while there are more types these are the major ones. Ready now choose which one suits you and we'll move on

**GET A BIKE WHERE YOU CAN TOUCH THE GROUND WITH BOTH FEET WHILE SITTING DOWN**

Step 2: Learning to Ride

Now to start with Find a nice open place with no steep hills and a minimum of people.

Learn what the brake is. On some bikes you just move the pedals on the bike backward to brake, on others you pull on a lever on the handlebars. ONLY USE THE REAR TIRE BRAKE FOR NOW

Now get onto your bike. Simply sit on the seat. Now with your feet still near the ground push off slowly. Your likely to wobble so be ready to catch yourself with your legs. At this point you basically just walking while sitting. Do this until your pretty comfortable.

Now put one foot on a pedal and one foot on the ground(while at a standstill), push on the pedal(down) and bring your other foot up to the other pedal. Push that pedal now and keep the pedals going. Don't use too much force on the pedals, but just enough to turn them nice and slowly. Again you are likely to wobble and sometimes fall but don't let it dominate you. Falling is not as bad as it seems. Do this over and over and over again going in a straight line.

Now turning will be much more difficult as people don't really trust themselves or their bikes yet. Really the only thing preventing you from doing this is fear so store it away and trust me. Begin with riding in a straight line like before now start shifting your weight to one side(very slowly) of the bike without turning the handlebars. You will see that the bike will move from side so side as you shift your weight. Get accustomed to how the weight leaning affects the bike and how much is causes you to turn.

Now without shifting your weight turn the handle bars about 5 degrees in either direction and notice how it turns the bike. Keep doing this and seeing how turning the handlebars affect the bike. Never turn the handle bars more than 45 degrees in either direction. Get a feel for this.

Now put turning the handle bars and shifting your weight together and now you know how to turn.

Step 3: Safety

Alright so now what you want to do is ride you bike for a while so you can get used to it and improve your skill. But first safety.

Never ride above your capabilities starting out or in a crowd of people
Always respect others on the route your taking
Don'r ride your bike so far that you cant ride it back
Remember pedestrians have the right away
Avoid running in to foot traffic
Stay on the right side of any path your on
Take caution of blind turns
Always stay alert for cars and remember they may not always see you
WEAR A HELMET ALWAYS
Follow any rules or laws in your area

Step 4: Additional Skills

1)How to shift

Some bikes have multiple gears to allow you to work less to stay at a certain pace. If you have one of these bike, this is how you do it.
Higher gears are for higher speeds, And lower gears are for lower speeds and inclines
Always shift while pedaling
Start shifting slowly and keep pedaling until you feel it change then you may rest in need to
Keep your chain oiled to avoid rough shifting
As a general rule shift only one gear per minute until you learn how to shift better

2)How to go up a hill

Stand up putting your weight forward on your bike and pedal
Build up speed before going up
Be to shift into a lower gear if your bike has that capability

3) How to stop fast

These are emergency stopping tips

If you only have the back brake use it and try not so slide the tire out of control.
If you have both back and front brakes apply the back brake first then the front. Never lock up the front tire or else you will go over the handle bars
When using the front brake put your weight in the back
Only use the front brake exclusively if going down a steep hill