Starting out is easy.

First of all, go for comfort. If your bicycle is not comfortable, you are probably not going to ride it.

Second, try to enjoy yourself. Do not always try to go fast unless you like doing so. If you enjoy your rides, you are more likely to ride.

Third. Do it. And a less than optimum ride that you do will do you a lot more good than the perfect workout that you don't do.

Fourth. Initially, do what you can and take it easy. Your body will should toughen up. I started when I was in my late 30s and I was a couch potato and I know other people who were couch potatos who started in the 50s and 60s. They just went out and rode easy and kept at it.

Fifth. Concentrate on your base - put in easy miles. Ride low gears and spin the pedals. Try spinning them faster than is comfortable. Spinning is a lot more efficient than mashing the pedals. You want to ride at higher than 80 rpm.

When you get to the point that you can ride a couple of hours cruising at over 15 mph, well then you can start thinking about getting fancy and getting fast. That is if you want to.