Is $250 the maximum amount you are looking to spend? In the world of new bikes, that's pretty low-end. If you only plan on riding casually and occasionally, then that's OK but if you are planning on more serious riding you will VERY quickly find that bikes at this price point are lacking in many things.
If you are just "testing the waters" you might engage a knowledgeable friend to help you find, inspect, and purchase a nice used bike. You can find a fairly nice "old-tech" bike in the $250 range. By old-tech I mean it may have a (gasp) 7-speed driveline, downtube shifters, or other things that are considered vintage today but will serve you well since they still work well, just not a slickly as today's components.
If you have more to spend, say $1000 or so, a trip to your LBS, especially one that carries 2-3 brands will likely be helpful. They can help you by understanding what you want in a bike and can recommend a suitable model to fit your budget and can also let you test ride it.