It is great excercise and you get to be outdoors. I ride a Mongoose Hilltopper with a Rock Shox indy fork. It is a great bike and I love to go ride. I am contemplating buying a new bike. A GT with the new I-drive.
Full Suspension is the future of mountain bikes.
Washington state is a beautifull state to ride in and there are alot of places to ride. There are some near Ellensburg and alot near Cle-Elum. I am not really into the cross country part of mountain biking. I will ride some and do not mind it. But Downhill is what I crave.