Got a bike for Xmas!.... and I'm clueless

[GettingFestiveNow]

Hello everyone 🖐

I received an Apollo Jewel for Christmas. (I haven't ridden a bike for approx 22 years, so wish me luck) I'm a bit apprehensive but also am in a life situation now where I could bike to work (15 minute walk), bike to the supermarket, etc. Most nearby roads are 30 or less and there's a scenic bike route not far away.

But where do I start? I'm a bit scared of sharing the road with motor vehicles (friend of mine was knocked off her bike and left lying in the road twice in 6 months). I guess I probably need to look at the Highway Code a bit? I'm a car driver normally.

Bike arrived disassembled and I haven't had a chance to finish putting it together yet, so that's another thing.

It doesn't have lights or mudguards. I'm guessing I need those?

Can I put a bag rack on it?

I've got a helmet, I'm guessing a hi vis vest might be a good idea?

Any advice re bike parking? What kind of lock is best?

Dd is nearly 5 - when can I take her out with me? I guess she's too big for one of those seats on the back, but how old do kids have to be before you can trust them to ride their own bike sensibly?

Lots of guessing in my post but I'm at a bit of a loss.

Hi. What a thoughtful present!

Finding some like-minded people locally will be a massive help. Meeting some of your local 'utility' cyclists will be helpful for finding the best bike parking spots, getting recommendations for local bike shops / services, and so on. You could have a look here: Advice for beginners | Cycling UK for general advice, and perhaps you could also see if there's a community club near you to help you get re-started on your new bike.

Alternatively, you could join a local ride Let's Ride - Breeze, which would also be useful for meeting local people who can help you out practically and with advice and knowledge.

Lights are essential if it's lighting up time, and useful at pretty much all other times for visibility. Mudguards aren't essential, but they do make cycling for transport a more pleasant experience.

I can't quite tell from the photos on the website whether the frame is threaded to take a pannier (bag) rack, but there are lots of different solutions available for fitting racks, so you should be able to get a rack fitted one way or another, though some ways allow you to carry heavier loads than others.

If you want to get your dd riding with you, it's maybe worth finding your local kids' cycling club - she will need to develop good skills to control her bike without really having to think, so that she has plenty 'headspace' for observing what's going on around her on the roads. (Find clubs here: British Cycling Go-Ride) It's also useful if the journey you want her to be capable of making on the roads is well within her physical abilities - kids tend to make poorer decisions when they're tired, so having a level of physical fitness suitable for the intended journeys also helps to keep kids safe. She'll also need to entirely reliably follow instructions and you need her to respond correctly when you need her to move left / right.

There's no set age for riding on the roads; we've taken a four year old with us on reasonably low-risk roads, and we've also, as experienced adult riders, chosen not to ride some normally low-risk roads when visibility has been poor, and instead drive ourselves and our bikes to trails rather than risk not being seen, so it's very much a decision to make based on risk factors specific to your intended journey, and the abilities of the people riding.

If you're going to use the bike a lot, maybe get something to enable you to clean the drivechain - bikes tend not to work well when the moving parts are encrusted with gritty road gunk. The other workshop basic you'll benefit from is some chain lube to apply after cleaning.

Aaaah that's amazing, thank you so much!

If you have an independent bike shop near you'll they will probably be happy to give it a once over and make sure you've assembled it properly.

Lights of course, and a hi Vis as well as a helmet.

Saddle bags with a mini first aid kit in it or one attached to the frame incase you come off to patch yourself up if you get any minor grazes, and a puncture kit and make sure you know how to fix one etc.

Have a look for cycling uk near to you, they often do rides. They used to be CTC cycling and touring club