Scared to Bike in the City? Here’s the Gear You Need to Stay Safe—Plus 9 Smart Tips from Skilled Cyclists

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE with city cycling wasn’t promising. The suburban rides of my childhood hadn’t prepared me for crumbling concrete, hulking cargo trucks and hostile drivers. By the time I moved to New York City six years ago, biking seemed absurd.

At the start of the pandemic, however, traffic vanished from my neighborhood in Brooklyn and it seemed like everyone took to two wheels. The New York City Department of Transportation reported it tracked 33% more bike trips year-over-year between May and December of 2020. Recently, I realized I was tired of being too scared to join the new wave of cyclists.