I took up trail riding about 7 years ago after spending forever as a road rider only. I raced competitively for 15 years and just never though about anything but the road. I've lived next to a huge snowmobile region with 100's of miles of trails for over 35 years but still never thought about venturing out on them with a bike.
Then I went and visited the bike shop on there used bike sale looking for a set of wheels, and for some reason this old steel triple triangle 26" mountain bike caught my eye. It was only $75.00 dollars and I thought why not buy it and see what riding in the woods is all about. Fast forward to present day and the old steel mtb is with my youngest son and I riding a Trek Stache 5 29 plus hardtail, and have a fat bike for winter riding. I find myself riding the trail bike every 2 out of 3 rides, and my 3 road bike are starting to collect dust.
The trails I ride out of my house on are great with a good mix of trial types to fit whatever your looking for. But I was looking for something that would be even tougher and was told to visit the local mtb hot spot. Well I have now visited this mtb region 3 times and I've found it to be a ton of fun. I did my first Black Diamond trail last week and even thro I was well over my head as far as skill level goes I had a blast. Even on the lesser rated trails it can be a challenge at times for me, but I'm finding myself looking forward to the new challenges.
I'm really enjoying pushing my limits and can't wait to visit this region more often in the future. I can't believe how much fun trail riding has been, and I see a full suspension bike in the near future so I can take on the rock garden trails a little better.