Originally Posted by
Bmach
Keep it simple to start off. Get platform pedals, a cheap helmet, a spare tube, a pump, tire levers and learn how to fix a flat. Get out and ride then get the rest as you ride more and have a better idea what you want.
Think back to when you were a kid, what did you have then?
Not much, but for the most part when I was a kid, I was never more than a couple miles, at most, from home. It wasn't until I started riding 20 or 30 miles out that it occurred to me that I would have a long walk home if I experienced a mechanical problem.