AP Photo/Paula Froke Check your brakes before going out for a ride.

PAULA FROKE
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Then come the cars. And more cars. And dogs. And pedestrians. And other bicyclists. Not to mention flat tires, gaping potholes, slippery roads.

"Just like riding a bike" turns out to be not so simple after all.

"A bicycle is a vehicle, not a toy," says Rich Conroy, bicycle education program manager for the group Bike New York.

That concept is central to efforts by Bike New York and similar groups across the country to teach cyclists how to ride more safely, handle hazards and avoid potential ones, and perform basic bike repair and maintenance.

Think of it as a driver's ed class for cyclists.

"A bicycle has a right to use the roads, but also a responsibility to respect and heed the rules of the road," Conroy says.

"What we try to teach in Savvy Cyclist is to first and foremost control your own behavior, and control your own decisions, to take power over yourself and to not be out of control when you're cycling."

For people without a bike education class nearby, there are other ways of learning to be a better biker: Join rides with a local bike club, or just find a more experienced and safety-conscious rider to teach you the basics.