All geared bikes in good condition are OK- road bikes, gravel, mountain, hybrid and so on. Many of the rides will be on sealed roads, but we will get off onto gravel a bit. If you have a bike, it is probably the right bike to use. Get it serviced if it has been sitting unused for the last 10 years.

Unless you know what you want, don't spend a lot of money buying a bike at the start. There are places like the Oberon Men's Shed where you can pick up a serviced bike at a bargain price. When you find out exactly the sort of cycling you love, then getting a dream bike is a pretty nice thing to do. Very good non-electric bikes can start at about $1000 new and then it just depends how much you are prepared to pay. The bikes to stay away from are the Supermarket bikes, and neglected used bikes as the cost of fixing a bike in poor condition may be more then the cost of buying a new bike on sale.

The exception on starting cheap is ebikes. A good ebike is not cheap - expect to pay $2000 and perhaps double that. You will probably need to buy bike rack for the car that is strong enough to carry ebikes.

You must have a helmet that meets the Australian standards. This can be one from a bike shop, or even the cheap Big-W helmets are excellent. It is also a good idea to have some sun glasses, and you need a plastic bicycle water bottle or two. These are probably the essentials. Bicycle gloves are not a bad habit to get into as they stop your hands getting torn up if you fall. Again, there are very cheap ones at Big-W.

Other then that, comfortable clothing and strong shoes. Some wet weather gear is good, but many don't bother riding if the weather is suspect. We really do have a lot of very fine weather in Oberon. You can get the cycling specific clothing from Bike Shops if you want, but it is definitely not a requirement.

Always take a mobile phone and a bit of cash is a good idea.

Bikes do get stolen, so a bike lock is probably worth it.

Some tools and a spare inner tube is a good idea, but one of the benefits of riding in a group is that it is not essential for everyone to have everything. As long as someone has a pump and tyre levers and a inner tube patch kit. Just don't expect someone else to have spare inner tubes for your bike.

If you can walk without loosing breath, you are probably fit enough to ride a bike. E-bikes let you pick how much you want to motor to assist you. Most people find riding an e-bike in eco mode is all they need, but if there is a particularly nasty hill, Turbo level is very nice.  With non-electric bikes, you will just have to build up your fitness - it might take a year or two to get to where you want to be. If you cannot make it up some hills and have to get off the bike and walk, it is not a disaster.  We have all done it.

If you have any medical conditions, talk about the cycling with your doctor. They may even encourage you to do it.

On the contrary, the research has shown that e-bike make it more likely that you will want to get out and ride. You will naturally pick a comfortable amount of motor assist, and that will probably a perfect exercise level for building cardio fitness. Bike riding does not have to be about torturing yourself riding up the hills.