Even though bike-shop clerks can be pretentious gearheads with High Fidelity attitudes, you need a decent bike—and someone to tell you what a decent bike even is—if you want to break a sweat on the thing. And you should, because cycling isn’t just the only ercise you can do with a serious breeze against your face; it’s high-level cardio disguised as sightseeing. Your heart, lungs, and legs know you’re working out, but your brain thinks you’re just cruising around town.

So it’s well worth the effort to find a friendly local shop with a wide selection of Trek, Specialized, or Cannondale bikes. A store that stocks these well-made, accessibly priced brands won’t try to upsell you into a custom ride or talk you into a beautiful but pointless single-speed commuter bike. Prepare to spend $1,000. It’s the bottom end for a good road bike with quality derailleurs (the things that shift the gears).

Skip the racing-grade carbon-fiber frames and go with aluminum. It’s plenty light and much cheaper. Then—and this is crucial—ask the shop guy to fit you to the frame. Without an expert to check your stand-over height, pedal stroke, and foot-knee alignment, you’re one hill ride away from injury. Now pay up and get out of there before someone tries to sell you a messenger bag.

The Gear: Break Away from the Pack.

Stock up on subtle cycling apparel—yes, it exists!—and let the other guys drape themselves in neon.

Air Attack helmet, $200 by Giro

Garin gloves, $30 by Veeka

S1-A riding jersey,$135 by Search and State

The Goal: Tape These Times to Your Handlebars

First, download Strava, a free smartphone app that’ll track all sorts of fun stuff: where you ride, your mileage, your time spent on the road, even your average speed. Once you’re in the saddle, start with a goal of twenty-five miles, averaging about fifteen miles an hour. If you don’t get winded walking to the kitchen, this is reasonable. Each subsequent ride, try to beat your previous time, if only by a minute. A few weeks in, try for fifty miles in three and a half hours. A month later, attempt your first century—one hundred miles—in seven hours. Don’t throw your helmet in the river if you can’t hit that time on your first try. As in weight lifting, the goal is slow and steady progress. You can go back to the bike shop to brag once you’ve crossed your first state line.

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