Why that's easy.

1. Before you ever start out, move the shifter on your left handlebar until the chain is on the middle front sprocket. Leave it there most of the time.

2. Now you can concentrate on just the right shifter. If your legs hurt, shift into an easier gear in back. If it seems too easy, shift into a harder gear in back. Most of the time, that's all that you need to know.

3. If you see yourself approaching a big hill, shift the left shifter into the smallest sprocket in front just as you get to the base of the hill.

4. Two or three times a year you will get a tail wind or want to ride downhill real fast. When that happens, shift your left shifter so that the chain goes into the biggest sprocket in front.