Howdy. I'm down the road from you a ways in south Garland.

They make bicycle tights that fit over bike shorts and also leg warmers that fit on your leg below bike shorts. Both are snug enough they won't get in the chain. That's the long term solution. On the occasions when I wear blue jeans on my bike, I put a big rubber band around the right leg. The reflective angle strips will work for this if they are long enough to go around over your jeans. I have a litlte clip for this purpose, but that clip is older than I am.

It is quite common when riding to get a big smear of black on your leg from accidentally leaning your leg on the chain. So don't wear light-colored pants that you care about.

Use both brakes equally. (Occasionally, gently squeeze just one, then the other to make sure both are adjusted right). The front has more stopping capability, which means in a hard stop when the rear wheel locks up, it's the front that's doing the braking. But most of the time, if you're not in panic stop mode, you just use both equally.

Riding in the rain is not bad if it's warm, but not a lot of fun when it's cold. But if it's rainy, you can usually wait a day or two and have better weather.