My first outing was this year. At the time i was riding a Trek 820 to get around town and for exercise. A couple of buddies of mine are casual mtn. bikers and they asked if I’d be interested in riding with them out at 9 mile forest in town here. I was skeptical at first because I didn’t think i my bike or myself would hold up on the trails, but, they talked me into it and i went anyway. let me tell ya, it was like crack, I was hooked instantly! At first i struggled to keep up with them but then as my fear began to subside i was blowing them away on my 820! ( one has a super V and the other was on a GT full susp.) when we got back to the parking lot I immediately paid for a season trail pass ($25 incredible value!) and after a few weeks of riding the 820, I upgraded to a 4300 Disc, bought clipless pedals and shoes and some other goodies to make riding a little more fun. I also started looking online (this site included) for other trails in the area and have ridden just about all of them. Now I’m looking out the window and the snow is falling and theres about a foot on the ground, I can’t wait to get back out there!