I started road biking when I was 14, before mountain biking was mainstream. A friend of the family was a triathalete and helped me pick out a bike and taught me technique etc. I loved it! I rode a lot until college. I moved from the city to a rural area for college, mostly dirt roads. My bike couldn't handle the gravel on the paved roads let alone the dirt roads! So I stopped riding, I didn't have the money for a mountain bike and I had a real fear of falling and getting hurt. It was 9 years after college that I decided I really wanted to start biking again and I could afford a new bike. Now my son is 9 and when deciding on a bike I went for a mountain bike, not thinking I'd like it better but that's what he'd want to do. And I wanted to ride with him.

It's 9 months later and I have to tell you I LOVE my mountain bike! I honestly wouldn't have gone this direction if it hadn't been for my son. I do live in a rural area, with plenty of trails near by and I find more all the time. When I first took my bike out last February I was terrified of the snow and ice, but once I gained trust in the bikes traction I was everywhere this spring usually covered in mud! At some point I may invest in a road bike again, but for now I'm a convert!