We decided to go check out mountain bikes yesterday, just to ‘look around’. We didn’t actually buy the first bikes we rode, but it was close. There is an A1 Cycling shop right behind our house, but the selection was small. So we called Austin to see where he had gotten his bike, which he had raved about recently. He went to the A1 Cycling in Herndon, so we headed up there, where he met up with us, just to hang out.
Aaron had fallen in love with a dual suspension bike which was $2k, and I was not excited about the idea of him actually purchasing said bike. Austin managed to convince me to try out the bike he bought, since it was priced right, light, and decent enough. I wasn’t looking for anything top of the line, by any means.
So I tried it. It’s a Specialized HRXC - nothing fancy, but rides nice. Sold! Aaron meanwhile was checking out all kinds of different bikes. He did try the Specialized, and it was good, but it was a hard tail, and it didn’t make him swoon. So was it good enough?
See for yourself:

Yes, we bought matching bikes. And we bought the same bike Austin has. Can’t wait to all go riding together!!
I’m pretty sure Aaron will end up trading this one in for a lighter, better, dual suspension model - but hopefully not until next year!
We took them out today to Conway-Robinson. One guy was just leaving when we got there, and he said the trails were good, and not too muddy. We had the place to ourselves after he left.

Some of the trail is wide, enough to go side by side on, but most of it is a narrow single track, in some places squeezed by trees where you had to have pretty good aim or you could get knocked around a bit. There were lots of rocks (now I understand why one model of bike is called a ‘Rockhopper’), and lots of roots and logs blocking the path.

I mostly walked the bike over the logs, just because I wasn’t sure of the clearance and I didn’t want to destroy the bike, or myself, the first time out. I did go over one log at the end, which was pretty exciting.
I think we’ll definitely get back out there next weekend. Hopefully we’ll find some good places to ride during the week, too, so we don’t get bored with Conway.