Life Kit - What You Need To Start Biking

Episode Date: June 3, 2021

Bike sales shot up last year and lots of cyclists dusted off their old wheels. If you're itching to get out there, this episode covers what you'll need to hit the road and strategies to stay safe. (It originally ran in August 2020.)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Okay, I'm outside. I've been spending a lot of time cooped up in my apartment, but sometimes I hop on my bike, and that's changed everything. Alright, here we go. Even when it's really hot out, like it is in D.C. in the summer, when you're on a bike, the air is somehow crisper. Got the wind on my face. Just feels good. The streets in my neighborhood have huge tree canopies arching over them,

and a lot of the roads are narrow without a lot of cars. As I bike around, I can hear the whirring of my wheels on the pavement beneath my feet, which makes me think of this one Frank Ocean song. He sings about how biking downhill sounds like a fishing rod, which it totally does. I feel safe, relaxed, at peace. This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Meg Anderson. I'm a producer at NPR, and I used to be a bike hater.

Honestly, I've had a rough initiation into the biking world. My husband loves it, and he always wants to bike places. Out with friends, to the store. I started trying to bike to work, but I just couldn't figure out how to make it fit into my life. I was always sweaty or super cold. I couldn't figure out how to carry all my stuff. Well, I am here now to help you avoid that. Or I should say, I found some amazing expert bikers to help you avoid that. After all, biking, once you figure it out, is great. It's healthy and reliable. It's environmentally friendly. And sometimes when

you're on a bike, something magical happens. It's freedom. That's Robbie Weber, our first expert. She's on the board of directors for Madison Bikes, which is in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. And she's been teaching people how to bike for more than 20 years now. You know, when I used to teach classes, one of the first things that we'd do as an icebreaker is we would talk about what our first bike meant to us. Talk about when you were a kid and you got a bike and you could go riding around and it was just freedom. And that's what it can be for adults, too. But one thing Robbie says she often encounters with new bikers is intimidation. She says people just don't see themselves as bikers. They think you have to be super fit and maybe wear a full spandex suit. And to that,

she says, look around. A lot of people bike. You see lawyers on bikes. You see moms with kids. You see older people. You see college professors, but you also see college students. People aren't necessarily wearing Lycra. They're wearing whatever they plan to wear the rest of the day. And if you saw me, you'd be less intimidated about biking because I am 61 and out of shape. But I can bike because I just take my time and I'm not worried about people passing me. That gets us to our first takeaway, which is make this easy for yourself. Going from driving or taking public transit to biking as a mode of transport is a big lifestyle change.

You don't need to dive headfirst into the deep end. Start small. One of the things I suggest is don't try biking to work when you've got a big meeting or when you're in a hurry. Again, if you want to try biking to work, try it on the weekend or if you have some time after work. But maybe try biking someplace easier, closer, shorter. Go to the grocery store if you just need to pick up some butter to make cookies. Or bike over to your friend's house and you can just try it out and see how it feels. And then you can work your way up to something further away.

Robbie says you should take this mentality of taking it easy and extend it to the route itself. This could be a route to work eventually, but also to your grocery store or to hang out in a friend's backyard or your favorite park. Try out your proposed route on a weekend or do it after work. A lot of times there are connections that you may not even be aware of. It would be great if everybody had a bike path from their front door to their workplace or the grocery store, but that's probably not realistic. But there may be some short little paths that you didn't even know connect to different neighborhoods, and that would allow you to go on smaller streets or quieter streets,

and you need to check those out ahead of time. And you don't have to do this all perfectly the first time. You should feel free to try different routes until you find the one that works for you. Trying your bike ride out ahead of time also helps you to figure out what clothes are appropriate and you don't have to map out your ride ahead of time completely from scratch. Lots of bike shops have street maps that show a city's bike lanes and bike paths. Plus, there are tons of people who love biking. You probably have friends who love biking. Another way to make your life easy is to tap into that community, even if it's just remotely for now.

Get a mentor or a bike buddy. And believe it or not, people often are glad to share their knowledge. You may not be able to shut them up once you ask them for help. I have definitely found that to be true. Not in a bad way, just totally true. And don't just talk about it. Ask a friend to go on a ride with you. Having an experienced biker with you on a ride can make all the difference. Okay, so in the spirit of tapping into lots of different people for expertise, for our next takeaway, I want to head to an entirely different part of the country. Hi, my name is Shikoya Bailey from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Shikoya is president of the Pittsburgh Major Tailor Cycle Club, and she's an expert bike commuter. And first, I had to ask about that magic feeling. On your best day and you're in your best mood and it's really nice out, like, how does it feel to be on your bike? I feel happy. Sometimes I'm just not even thinking about anything. I'm just kind of like riding along, just looking at the beauty of, you know, the city or the landscape. Like, I don't have a care in the world at that time. Now that we've crossed that first emotional hurdle, we're just a little bit closer to getting to that place of zen. But first, we need some gear.

It feels like you need a lot of stuff to be a biker. What do you think about the people who have, have like every little accessory that you could possibly have? Like they have those little rear view mirror things on their helmet and they're just like really intense. What are your thoughts? They've probably just been riding a long time, but you don't need all that. If they want to be completely geared up, you know, that's on them. They're helping the economy. She says, actually, you just need three things to get started. Bare minimum, I'd say some sort of bag to carry your items in to make sure it's secure. A helmet. And, like, the main item that you really need is the bike.

There you have it. Our second takeaway. You don't actually need to invest in a ton of complicated gear to become a biker. You just need a bike, a helmet, and a bag. And then you can add on the rest as you go if you want. But let's back up. How do you even pick out a bike?

What kinds of questions should I be asking when I go to a bike store to look for a bike? It's really important to tell them what kind of riding you want to do, because that can kind of determine what kind of bike to get. She says if you're biking on gravelly trails, you might want a mountain bike. If you're on city streets, get a road bike or a hybrid, which have thinner tires. And if you're in a place with a lot of hills, you're probably going to want to get a bike that has gears. Once you've figured out the kind of bike you think you want, any bike shop worth their salt will have you test ride several bikes. Oh. Like, yes, they will say,

okay, well, how about trying this out and put you on a bike and kind of like size it up, trying to get the right size. And then they say, well, test ride this and you'll go down the block and ride around and they'll give you a few to try and then see how you like it and you'll change the gears and see how you like that and you want to try to get your bike without test riding you know you want to walk out. Yeah it's just like buying a car. Exactly. I'm mostly on flat city streets so my super cute bright pink single speed road bike does the trick. And I've got my helmet, which is less cute but very necessary. And I usually ride with a backpack, so I'm set there too.

But back sweat is a real thing. So if you want, you can upgrade that bag to a basket on your bike or even a bag clipped onto a bike rack off the back. That's called a pannier, although the pronunciation of that word is hotly disputed. It might also be pannier or paneer. It's like the cheese. Yeah, I guess if I'm saying it wrong, I'm sure someone will tell me at some point. Because I used to pronounce the chamois wrong, and that's the padded in your shorts. But I used to pronounce it chamois or something.

For the record, it does literally look like chamois on paper. But in any case, having some kind of bag is key because it allows you to carry things with you, like some beers for a backyard hang or eventually, when office life returns, a change of clothes or some deodorant. It's nice to not show up to work totally disheveled, right? But if you're feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you're suddenly carrying to avoid becoming known at work for smelling bad. If you work somewhere where you have a desk that's your space and you can leave things there, sometimes I would bring things at the start of the week. The first trip that Monday might be the heaviest trip that I make because I'm bringing some extra things so that I don't

have to carry them each day throughout the week. A lot of the things that you might carry, a change of clothes, deodorant, have to do with summer biking. But what about frigid winter biking? Just kind of having a couple different layers is super helpful. Layer one. I would definitely say having some sort of dry wicking material that's the closest against your body. She recommends wool because it's warm and it dries quickly. And then the next layer. It could be kind of a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt if you don't have like the fancy gear.

And then the outer shell should be something that it has some windproofing a bit and maybe a little bit of waterproofing is super helpful. On the bottom, she says thicker pants, some wool socks and boots should do the trick. And if you know the wind chill is going to be crazy and your boots don't really protect that much, you can put your foot in a bag and then put it into the shoe. Whoa. And that works for if it's raining and you don't want your like socks to be soaked. However, your feet will sweat too. So there's like a plus and minus. She also said a bandana or a scarf to cover your face. And of course, good gloves help a lot too. One thing that's worth noting as we talk about gear and clothes, to become a bike commuter, you may have to buy some stuff, sure, but you can be thrifty about it. If you are on any groups on the various social medias, there are groups for biking forums,

and sometimes people will give away some of their old gear. You can go to the, like, thrift stores and get some things as well. Just starting out, I think I would just ride with what you have, and, like, the main item that you really need is the bike. And even that, if your city has a bike share program, you can use that instead of buying a bike. Okay, so finally, I'm ready to get out on the road. How do I stay safe? For that, I turn to Claudia Corsino, who bikes in one of the most intense environments for a cyclist, New York City. But first, naturally, here are her thoughts about those magic bike feelings.

Oh my God, I had so much feelings. I feel empowered. I can see the world from a different point of view because every day is different. Like when I'm seeing more women on the road, I'm also so happy. We look to each other like, oh, we smile. Claudia is the co-founder of

Ciclistas Latinoamericanos de New York, and she had a ton of tips for staying safe on the road. She started listing them off to me. I will encourage people to use reflective clothing, to follow rules of the road. Also, signal. Many cyclists signal when they are in a road. Like, you know, tell the driver where are you going, if you're going to the right, to the left. I will also tell cyclists not to use headphones or listen to music because sometimes you get distracted and you have to be aware what is behind you. Okay, so reflective clothing,

following the rules of the road, using hand signals, no headphones. Yes, and lights, to have lights. And lights. Okay, lights too. This all felt like a lot, but actually, if you think about them all together, they lead us to our third takeaway. As a biker, it helps to think like a driver. Basically, it breaks down like this. Follow the law, just like drivers do. Don't run red lights or stop signs. Use your hand signals. Use lights at nighttime. Pay attention to your surroundings. Anything that could make you predictable with the drivers. Predictability. I like that idea of kind of like showing people with your behavior kind of what you're going to do. Yes.

So think and act like a driver. A good driver, I would add. And just like a driver, stay in your lane. If a bike lane exists, use it. And whether you're in the bike lane or along the edge of the road, bikers should try to stay as far to the right as possible. Don't bike in the gutter, but try to give cars three feet of space. If the road is too narrow, ride in the middle of the lane. You don't want to tempt drivers to try to squeeze past you. You're trying to maintain this balance of being far away from the moving cars and the parked cars because you also do not want to get doored when someone is getting out of their parked

car. And on that note, a quick aside. This is a podcast about how individual people can start biking. But I'd also say, hey drivers, you are in a huge metal box. There are things you can do too to keep bikers safe. Like, please don't double park your vehicles or don't park on bike lanes. Please be mindful of opening your door. Please look and watch for cyclists. There's actually a fun trick for opening your car door. It's called the Dutch Reach, and it's simple.

When you're getting out of your car, use your far hand, your right hand if you're the driver, to open the door. It forces your whole body to turn, and so you're naturally able to see if a bike is coming up behind you. The more you know. Claudia also said something interesting about the relationship between bikers and drivers. With more cyclists on the road, we protect ourselves. She says as drivers see more and more people riding bikes, they might become more aware of bikers and more accustomed to looking out for everyone on the road. Plus, they will see more people like using an alternative mode of transportation, so they will just get used to it. And they could probably be interested

or feel like they could do it as well. She says not every driver is going to be nice to you. And the best thing to do in most cases is just to ignore them and focus on keeping yourself safe. But the hope is that more cyclists on the road, she says, could help us shift from a car-only culture to one that's more welcoming of other ways to get around. And with that, we've completed your how to become a biker plan. Let's recap our takeaways. Number one, make this easy for yourself. You don't have to be a triathlete. Take it slow, try routes ahead of time, and enlist your friends to support you. Number two, you don't need a ton of gear. All you need is a bike, a helmet, and a bag. Start with that and add from there. And finally, number three, to stay safe, act like you're driving a car. Follow the

rules of the road and stay alert. This is all about being predictable to other people. And there you have it. You're ready to go get on that bike. For more NPR Life Kit, check out our other episodes at npr.org slash life kit. And if you love this podcast and want more, subscribe to our newsletter. And if you've got a good tip, leave us a voicemail at or email us at This episode was produced by Sylvie Douglas and Rommel Wood. Megan Cain is the managing producer. Beth Donovan is the senior editor. Our digital editors are Beck Harlan and

Claire Lombardo. And our editorial assistant is Claire Schneider. I'm Meg Anderson. Thanks for listening. An officer pins a 16-year-old to the ground and punches out his teeth. But are there any consequences for the cop? For the first time, we take you inside the secret investigations that show how police protections in California shield officers from accountability. Listen to On Our Watch, a podcast from NPR and KQED.