My very first off-road adventure...

Some friends persuaded me to join them for a CX bike outing on the local mountain bike trails. (None of us have mountain bikes, so this is the closest we could get.) We went to the park with the easier, less technical trails, since this was my first time riding off-road.

I spent a lot of time coasting with my hand on my rear brake, trying to keep my feet out of my pedals (my CX bike mostly gets used as a back-up road bike, so I've got clipless on that) and clipping trees and falling off. This set of trails is fast and flowy, but has some tight spots between trees. There was a lot of crunch-crunch-scrape-"**** you too, tree!" I hope I never have to ride a bike in ecologically sensitive areas, because I might have wiped out 15 species if yesterday was anything to go by. Adding to the difficulty was a lot of downed branches and sticks. My riding buddies were awesome--the one guy (he races CX and wants to get into MTB was well) in particular is really good about adapting to other people's levels and not making them feel bad about themselves. We went out for beer and pool afterward. :D I now have an assortment of bruises on my right leg, including a spectacular one on my knee from hitting a rock mid-creek crossing. (It was from the bike hitting my knee--I landed on my feet.)

I can't tell if this has cured my desire to get a mountain bike or simply intensified it.

The first rule of MTB is telling the gory stories of your injuries with pride and relish. You're well on the way. You definitely need one :-)

I can't imagine doing most trails on my CX bike. I have a feeling you'd find it to be a lot easier/comfier on a bike with squishier tires and front suspension. :)

Sounds like a hoot to me. Then again, any excuse to a) ride my CX bike, or b) get a new bike is a good thing :D.

As others have said - the MTB would certainly make the trails easier, but riding on the CX bike is also good for your handling skills and will teach you a lot. This does, in fact, transfer to the road as well - you become more confident about riding over the small cracks and crevices in the road, rather than having to go around them. And if you do find yourself off the side of the road for any reason (car, momentary lapse of concentration), you won't panic.

SheFly

Yep, you already have the story telling down, you need a mountain bike :) +100 on SheFly's comment. My foray into mountain biking certainly increased my tolerance for all types of riding. Thanks for the story!