To ride a BICYCLE is to be connected to a place in a way that no other mode of transportation allows. A bicycle between your legs grounds you to pavement and path, to situation and space. Pushing pedals, shifting gears, creeping between cars, or bullying down a rocks-and-roots mountain trail unites you with both the space you’re moving through and the bicycle beneath you. Now, after a brutal winter, the cycle of seasons is finally swinging toward spring. Whether you ride five minutes to work or 70 miles every Saturday, it’s time to throw your leg over the top tube and mount your saddle. Whether you’re a first-time rider, semi-pro roadie, year-round commuter, or rugged off-roader, here’s an overview of the whats, wheres, and hows of this season in cycling.

For the deep-pocketed cycling enthusiast, there’s ATA Cycle. This boutique bicycle shop carries primarily high-end Italian road frames, offering "a serious alternative to what’s out there," according to sales manager Jeremy McHugh. Walking into ATA and asking for a Schwinn 10-speed or a hand-me-down Huffy would be like walking into a Ferrari dealership and asking to test drive a Honda Civic. Indeed, the Colnago Carbonissimo "is the Ferrari of bikes," says McHugh. Parts of the $5000 frame are, in fact, manufactured by Ferrari. The carbon-fiber frame makes for a bike that’s light, stiff in the lateral planes, and smooth on the road. And unlike mass-produced frames that come in three sizes (small, medium, and large), Colnago has 19 stock sizes, meaning the geometry fits the rider perfectly. The result? "The bike disappears beneath you," says McHugh.

Somec frames ($1800–$2500) also represent the height of Italian frame-building. McHugh estimates that there are about 100 Somec bikes in the US. "They’re for someone who wants to have a bike that no one else has," he says. These bicycles aren’t made in factories on assembly lines, but in small shops by artisans. There’s no formula for making them, explains McHugh, and no two are exactly alike. The details and parameters of each handmade frame have been passed down through a tradition of tinkering with tubes and laboring over lugs. Fondriest frames likewise prove a luxury import. "There are only three shops in the US where you can get them," says McHugh. The carbon fiber of the Fondriest FSL-U107 ($2200) is made via the same process used for Formula One race cars.

"Road-bike culture has made a tremendous comeback," says McHugh. "Technology has soared." A fully built-up bike feels lighter than a gallon of milk. Whether you know anything about bicycles or not, the frames at ATA speak speed; even hung on racks, wheeless, seatless, and handlebarless, they look fast and fierce.

If ATA caters to an aristocratic cycling crowd, Broadway Bicycle School touts pedals for the people. Unlike ATA, with its pristine floors and show-room style, Broadway is a workshop; not everything is shiny and almost nothing is brand new. Instead, you’ll find grease and gears, bicycle body parts, and the tools to fix them. There’s a fleet of used bikes lined up out front for sale, but the focus of this 30-year-old, collectively operated establishment is on repair. For $9 an hour, you can rent one of the eight stands and have access to all the tools you need, and for $18 an hour, a mechanic will guide you through whatever rehabilitation your bike requires. "We’re empowering people to get to know their bikes," says Sylvia Dizon, one of the five people running the shop.

Often when you take your bike in for repair, it’s wheeled away into some out-of-sight repair realm. Broadway Bicycle School, however, "is into hands-on," says Dizon, her delicate fingers caked with grease. The school offers bicycle-repair classes, both basic and advanced. The basic class ($95) consists of five two-hour sessions in which you’ll learn about chains, lubrication, general maintenance and diagnosis, how to repair a flat, and how to adjust gears, brakes, and bearings. The advanced class ($85) is four two-hour sessions. Learn how to do rear-hub and headset overhauls, a front-derailleur-cable replacement and adjustment, and how to true a wheel. "All classes are taught by professional bicycle mechanics using a hands-on approach," reads Broadway’s flyer. "Bring your bike to class and don’t dress up."

Broadway also sells bikes geared toward commuters; its specialty is the Broadway Bike ($450). The shop takes old English three-speeds and "hand-build[s] the wheels around the old-school bike," replacing steel wheels, "which aren’t great for the city," says Dizon. The new Master Model ($899) was designed in part by Mike Flanigan, formerly of Independent Fabrication, Somerville’s master bike-makers. "It’s a high-quality, classy commuter bike," says Dizon. "The function is utilitarian. It’s a beautiful bike." All black, the bike gives off an air of simple, sturdy strength and an understated elegance. Broadway also fixes up used bikes to sell: the mechanics fully recondition and upgrade them. As a result you might pay "slightly more for used bikes" at Broadway, admits Dizon. But it’s all a labor of love. "It’s good to feel confident about what people are riding around on."

Finn Harrigan-Anderson of Cambridge Bicycle feels most confident and comfortable on a fixed gear. "There’s less that can fail," he says of these single-speed bikes with no freewheel (and usually no brakes, either). The lack of a freewheel makes it impossible to coast; it’s a bicycle in its purest form. "It’s a whole different world of riding," Harrigan-Anderson says. "It’s a game of anticipation." There’s a rhythm to riding a fixed gear, a pace and purity not found on bikes with gears to shift and brakes to rely on. Previously the form favored by bicycle messengers, fixed gears are gaining popularity.

"Our biggest business is fixed gears," says Harrigan-Anderson, "and we cater to messengers, but it’s getting to be a huge culture in the US. There’s a new contingent of commuters riding fixed gears, an influx of businessmen." But the culture retains its rough-and-tumble roots: a flyer for a race in New York City reads "Fixed Gears Only. No Fucking Brakes." Surly, fixed-gear frames ($450–$550), says Harrigan-Anderson, "are meant to be whaled on." Van Dessel also makes fixed frames ($399) with sloping lines in head-turning colors. These bikes "make sense in a city like Boston," says Harrigan-Anderson, "where you’re only traveling short distances."

Navigating Boston’s twisted city streets is one thing. But the chaos of the road doesn’t crank everyone’s gears. Mountain bikers would rather hit the hills and bump over stumps than negotiate potholes and bossy New England drivers. Like their on-road counterparts, mountain bikes are getting lighter and stronger; clunky has turned muscular. Craig Gaulzetti, sales manager at International Bicycle Center, points to the Specialized Epic ($1900–$4000). "One complaint about mountain bikes," says Gaulzetti, "is that they bob under pedaling forces — they’re great over rough terrain, but lack in sprints." The front and rear suspension of the Epic, however, is activated from the ground up. New for 2003, this "Brain Technology" requires force from below to trigger the suspension. You’ll also start seeing the use of hydraulic-disc brakes, similar to those of cars and motorcycles, on mountain bikes. Using hydraulic brake fluid and a rotor keeps the braking forces off the rim of the wheel. And on muddy trails, "not relying on mechanical force makes for a much more reliable system," says Gaulzetti. Riders are getting more aggressive, "and these newer bikes allow you to do three- and four-foot drops. You don’t have to be Evel Knievel. You just need the right equipment and a sense of balance."

The Trek Fuel 100 ($4000) falls under the category of the right equipment. "It’s the lightest full-suspension mountain bike to date," Gaulzetti says. New for 2003, Shimano XTR dual-control levers allow you to shift and brake with a single lever from various hand positions. "It’s no longer a thumb system," says Gaulzetti. And in the world of wheels, Mavic has "revolutionized pre-assembled wheels sets," asserts Gaulzetti. "The Mavic Cross Max [$850] is the pinnacle of wheels." The wheels allow for disc brakes and nine speeds, and are utilizing the tubeless tire. "The tire is set on the rim in an airtight way," which means no more pinch flats. And in the event of a puncture, "just throw in a tube, and you’re on your way again." Safety first, however. Helmets are important. Rest assured that when it comes to headgear, more expensive doesn’t mean safer. "A $30 helmet is just as safe as a $180 one," assures Gaulzetti.

Now that you have helmet in hand and mountain bike ready to go, Steve Coombs of Community Bicycle Supply recommends the Fellsway, Winchester, Blue Hills, and Lynn Woods areas to try them out. In Foxborough, the North East Mountain Bikers Association (NEMBA) is raising money to purchase a 47-acre chunk of land known as Vietnam. NEMBA’s goal, according to the spring issue of the Ride, "is to put the land under a permanent conservation restriction and develop a premier trail system that will be open to the non-motorized public." Visit www.nemba.org for more information.

For riders who want to get on the trails with a bunch of like-minded bodies and bikers, International Bicycle sponsors both the Harpoon Brewery Mountain Biking Team and the Rage Mountain Bike Club. The Rage club has no requirements for membership, "except that you are cool and like to ride," according to its Web site (www.ragemtb.com). Rage usually runs three to four rides per week in season, and ability levels vary. The Harpoon team grew out of the Rage club, and is for expert mountain-biking racers.

Boston also offers a choice of road clubs. Community Bicycle Supply sponsors the Boston Bicycle Club (B2C) with two rides per week. The Charles River Wheelmen (www.crw.org) "is a social club, not a racing club," according to a brochure, geared more toward the casual cyclist than the competitive speed demon. ATA, on the other hand, sponsors the Boston Road Club, primarily a racing club with unofficial rides on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Ride lengths range from 25 to 75 miles, and "most of the rides are pretty fast" says ATA’s Glenn Cratty. "But it sure beats jogging in the rain."

Nina MacLaughlin can be reached at nmaclaughlin@phx.com