• Choose a type of bike that is best suited to the majority of cycling you'll be doing.
• Try bikes out before you buy.
• Seek advice from your bike shop on the right size and position.
• Adjust the seat and handlebar positions to suit you.

Dealing with different conditions

• If you're cycling at night use lights and wear reflective clothing.
• If you're cycling in wet weather wear bright clothing and consider using your lights. Use waterproof clothing and check your bike (especially brakes, tyres and gears) more regularly.
• If you're cycling in very hot conditions wear cool cotton clothes and use suntan lotion. Drink plenty of fluids.

Bike lights
It is a legal requirement to use lights meeting a certain legal standard while cycling at night. You must have a white front light, a red rear light, four amber pedal reflectors and one red rear reflector.

You can get various types of bike lights ranging from halogen, LED, dynamo compatible and standard bulb. Halogen lights tend to wear the batteries out quickly and LED lights do not meet the legal standard, so are best used in addition to your main lights.

Helmets
In recent years there has been a huge drive to get people to wear helmets to protect against head injury. However, increasingly people are arguing that wearing a helmet actually has little effect on the risk of head injury. If you do decide to wear a helmet, here are some tips on getting the right one from the BBC Sport Academy:

• Find a shop that has a good selection of helmets and try on plenty of types and makes until you find one that fits perfectly.
• If you are able to move the helmet backwards and forwards when the chin strap is fastened then it is too big. If the helmet is too big it will be uncomfortable and it will also give you much less protection and may even slip off.
• Tighten the chin strap until you can just barely open your mouth all the way. If the fit is right, the helmet will sit quite low on your brow but high enough not to obstruct your vision.
• Helmets for children tend to be relatively larger than adult ones in order to be fully effective. This means that your helmet may look as if it is perched on top of your head!
• The protective foam polystyrene becomes less effective as the helmet becomes older. So it's wise to replace any helmet that has been damaged in an accident, however slight.
  

Extra equipment

• Spare batteries for your lights
• Tyre pump and puncture repair kit
• Waterproof rucksack or panniers

The Right Route
Whether you cycle to work, or you cycle for pleasure, there's a cycle route for you!

Cambridge Cycle Routes Map
A guide to getting about Cambridge on a bicycle.

Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel Map
A map of the cycle network through and around Peterborough.