I have a sister, a college student, who has expressed interest in bicycling.

She doesn't know the first thing about bikes, and can't remember ever being taught how to ride (if you can believe it).

Last year, she purchased a Huffy bike for 50 bucks at a pawnshop, left it in our garage, and went off on a study-abroad program for six months. She's back, and says that she's still interested in learning to ride, but when I offered to take her out to a parking lot and teach her, she said that she was "scared".

I'm worried, for several reasons.

She doesn't seem very "passionate" about it. She talks about getting fit and how a bike would be great for that, but has no real goals, and I'm worried that this bike will end up like the rollerblades she bought and never used.

Also, I think her bike is a piece of junk. It's got rust, the brakes are messed up, and you can't shift gears without hearing random clunking, screeching sounds. If she takes it on the road, I think it'll probably kill her.

In the past, I've kidded her about her "pawnshop bike", and told her she needs to spend a couple hundred bucks to get a decent starter bike, but I think it hurts her feelings. She calls me an "elitist". Right now she's broke, and doesn't have the money to get a new one. Am I just being prejudiced, and all this thing needs is some time at a LBS?

Also, she has plantar fasciits and knee pain. Is it a bad idea for her to ride a bike?

I don't know how to teach her to ride. I was planning on just letting her sit on the seat, and scoot along to learn balance. Does anybody have any teaching advice?

What can I do to help her become a serious, competent, safe bike rider?