• Road Biking - Road riding on the Bicycles of today requires additional skills that you need to develop. The least that you should do is check out some of the training material that is available. For example look at John Howard's "Lessons in Cycling" for starters.

• Mountain Biking - Here again, the Bicycles of today and the use of them is much different now. In order to ride off road on these great bikes you will need to develop additional skills. I strongly suggest that you invest in a book or two, or even a video to help you get started on the right foot. For example check out Ned Overend's "Performance Mountain Biking" video. If you're a beginner, a  review before a ride is always a good idea. I use a  reference book (like "Learn Mountain Biking in a Weekend" by Andy Bull) for that purpose.

 There are many training programs out there for Bicycling. To pick the program that's right for you, you must first decide on your short & long term goals. Then look for the best program that will give you your short term goals (based on your skill level) and also support your long term goals.

  If you have no idea where to begin, but you a serious about getting fit for riding with Clubs which do weekly rides of up to 100 miles, then I would suggest looking into the training programs offered by Bicycling Magazine. They have a comprehensive "Personal Trainer" program that you can customize to meet your needs. This will save you a lot of time looking at various Web Sits and Books to try and pick a program on your own that may not be what you need.

Maintenance ~

  If you are not going to ride with a group that has a knowledgeable bike maintenance geek in it, you will need to know some basics. Yes you can buy books and read all about what to do and how to no it, but I found the best place to start is your local Bike Shop.  Most of them put on seminars where you actually do the work or watch the pro and ask questions.