[Skidad]

Mtn. biking rocks IMO and is great training. I've found nothng that can turn your entire body into a wimpy noodle more than a grueling dirt bike ride but mtn. bikeing can come close. I love the quiet factor and the fact you don't need huge mileage to enjoy the sport. I have 3 spots within 5-10 minutes where I can ride. Me and all 3 of my kids ages 17, 15, and 12 do it. With the cold weather my kids bail but I continue. I bought a set of Nokian studded tires last winter and it was one of the best purchases I've made as you can just laugh at glare ice on the trails. I use a pair of Swix XC ski gloves which work great. No problem keeping warm once you get warm. Since I've been unemployed I've spent FAR more time on the mtn. bike this past year than the dirt bikes and I can enjoy the sport with my kids which for me is huge....except dad gets to wrench/maintain 4 bikes. It get very addictive and bling and goodies for mtn. bikes is off the charts. For a newbie the learning curve with all different bike standards, suspension designs, terminology etc. it can be quite overwhelming. Worse than dirt bikes but it's super fun and fantastic exercise (that can really hurt).

GT Marathon is a nice bike. Let me guess...Performance Bike? They were blowing out all knds of deals on the GT bikes.