I live to ski. People around me bitch about brushing snow off their cars. I get excited because its that much more snow to ski on. Unfortunately, I am about as far from independently wealthy as one can get, and until I have enough cash lying around to chase the snow around the globe year round, I'm stuck for most of the year with nothing to do but smoke, play frisbee golf, and buy cheap off-season ski equipment. While scouring the internet for cheap skis is fun, as a hobby it gets prohibitively expensive.

What should I start doing in the warmer months? I used to kayak, but I sold the thing for beer money and never got back into the sport. Plus, there's nothing better than class 2 around here, and my car doesn't like driving further than down the street. Nor does it like carrying a kayak.

I've been thinking about trying to find a decent mountain bike and giving that a go. Plenty of trails and hills around here to fuck around on. Anybody here serious about their sprocket rocket? Where should I start?

And don't suggest golf. Fuck golf. I have a set of clubs collecting dust already. Trying to get that fucking white piece of shit to go where I want it to go is the single most frustrating thing in creation.

For what it's worth, I'm far from fat but certainly not in any great shape, and I've never had the physical prowess or coordination to play any really competitive sports.

So help me find a new warm-weather hobby!! Also, if you're in Michigan's lower and want to hook me up with a bike or kayak on the cheap, I'll buy you a burger and a beer.

Definitely look into mountain biking. I ride myself, though trails suck when you're in cornfield country. But being in Michigan, there would be a whole bunch of stuff to mess around on. And there's not too many better ways to get into shape than by busting your ass up some steep hills.

Where to start? Well the first question would probably be do you want full suspension or a hardtail? Go with hardtail if you plan on doing a lot of cross country riding, especially climbing. Hardtails are also a lot of fun for riding in the city and hopping curbs and stairs. If you want to do a lot of downhill/gravity riding, get a full suspension. Keep in mind the different amounts of travel too, some full-sussers have like 8 inches of travel for bombing off cliffs and other crazy shit (look for clips from the movie Roam on youtube, it's insane). There's also full-suspension rigs called all-mountain, which have around 5 inches of travel and can do a little climbing. Typically, hardtails are cheaper than full-suspension bikes, I'd say about 800-1000 bucks for a good starting out hardtail and 1500 and up for an entry level full-suspension.

Then there's all of the components, the nicer bikes have disc brakes, sealed bearings, carbon fiber parts, and a whole lot of other stuff I can't think off. Clipless pedals are another thing to look into. It's kind of confusing, but clipless pedals are the ones where your feet are attached to the pedal. I wouldn't get them if you plan on jumping at all though.

You really can't go wrong with any bike brand either, as long as you stay out of K-Mart/Dick's Sports obviously. There's so many good bike companies, do a little hunting beyond just Trek and Cannondale to find what you really want.

And here's a pic of my ride, just felt like showing it off:
[img=http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/7382/p1010018tv7.th.jpg] (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1010018tv7.jpg)