Originally Posted by
Money D
Visit a few bike shops and demo a few bikes to know what size and what style of bike you want to get. Then look at craigslist/etc to find a used but good/great shape bike for a much better value than buying new. Don't buy a used dept store throwaway bike. A 10 year old trek/c-dale/giant/etc with lx/xt/sora/tiagra/105/ultegra/etc that's been hanging in someones garage and has less than 1000 miles will be just fine and you'll get much more bike for your dollar.
My $0.02
Ride it often.
I used to ride all the time. Enjoyed it thoroughly just not when it broke all the time. My buddy had a GT aggressor or something like that he liked I think they were like $300 new. Didnt know about the quality of those.