Steps to be a Good Local Bike Rider

I have realized that there are baby steps (obstacles) to becoming a good bike rider. After biking for a month and a half, I feel like I have progressed in my steps of bike riding. Yet, I am only on step 6 (riding with an umbrella); I have much to practice.

Steps to be a good local bike rider:
1. Get on the bike and ride it.
2. Learn to cross the street. This is quite hard because walkers and bikers do not get the right-of-way.
3. Learn to maneuver around people and small gates.
4. Riding with something in your basket. This is complicated because it makes your bike unbalanced.
5. Ride and talk on the phone. I can do this, but I try not to do it.
6. Ride while holding an umbrella. Here's a picture of me with the umbrella.



I have used the umbrella now both for rain and to be a sun shade. It is harder than it looks because that means you only have one hand to maneuver, and you also have to hold the umbrella in a way so the wind doesn't blow it aside. They also have hands-free umbrella holders you can attach on your bike. I will have to invest in one.
7. Riding with a person sitting on the back of the bike. I can't do this because nobody wants to be the first to try sitting on the back of my bike. Alvin refuses, although I have sat on the back of his bike a couple times.
8. Doing the local mount and dismount. This includes starting with one foot on one pedal, and then mounting the bike and starting the bike in one swift movement.

Steps 9 and 10 are rare and things I would never do, but we have seen really good bike riders do:
9. Riding a bike while holding and leading an empty bike alongside him/her.
10. Having a whole family on the bike. This includes one parent riding, one parent sitting on the back holding a baby, while the toddler is standing on the bike behind the second parent. We have seen this a couple times, but I promise that I will never let my family do this.