When you buy a bike, ask the bike shop to “fit” the bike to you and ask them about local group rides. If you want to read a book about intro to cycling, I recommend <https://durianrider.com/products/durianriders-lean-body-bible> It also comes with a lot of nutrition advice which you are free to ignore (I like that part too)
If you want road cycling, you can enter at a variety of price points and still be fast. This would be a great start, let me know how that falls in your budget:
Just before I snapped this picture, the donkey was standing with his face against the fence in a hilarious pose because it was the only corner of the yard that had the least bit of shade.
