Just have fun out there and take a lot of pride in every little step of progress you make. That's what I try to do - a couple months ago when I broke my distance of 11.5 miles and went 15 miles, I gave myself a big pat on the back and posted it here so I could get more pats! One suggestion might be to take a class with a local club. I took one last year with MassBike that taught me things I didn't even know to ask about!
Most importantly - have fun!