I got my first 29er in 2009, a Gary Fisher (now Trek) Superfly; full carbonfiber HT. I loved that bike. Only went OTB one time on it, those big wheels can handle anything. I finally got tired of my ass getting beat up, and went to FS. Now I'm on a 29er ebike. Man, I can go farther faster than before, and expect I'll be able to ride well into my 70's.

Do you watch any YouTube? There are a couple really good channels coming out of the U.K. One is about standard bikes, the other about ebikes.

I've had my share of crashes, too. You know what they say, "If you're not crashing, you're not learning."
My right collarbone sticks up so prominently, it's easily seen when I'm wearing just a t-shirt. Don't have full extension/rotational range on either shoulder, but no pain, so I'm OK there.

@kenriley, just takes a bit of caution. And you don't have to make it risky, mountainbikes now have really good hydraulic disc brakes, and squishy full-suspension. Getting out in nature, up in the mountains, etc., makes it all worthwhile, honest. And now, for us old blokes, there are e-bikes.

@Condor5 [facebook.com]

I haven't really ever fallen off a lot.. just once on BMX's - looped the loop on a half pipe but didn't get enough loop out and dropped top arc lol .. ouch. two weeks in hospital at 12 years odd.. Then more recently just doing 2 mph and couldn't get out of SPDs.. Very rare I drop it. Not so much now but would table top out off ramps at 8 - 9 ft happily - recovering fractured elbow though so just being gentle for now..

The above link will give you lots of info on trails between the bike articles etc. There are a lot of trails being developed all the time. Forest of Dean is quite famous. Snowden. Malvern are okay. Peak District and Pennine Way are great, Scotland all over pretty much & Wales really. North Wales for hills & West Coast of Scottish highlands. East coast from Glasgow to Whitby / Robin hoods bay.

You want good all round tyres - you may get dry weeks but you will also get weeks when it's just smoking mist rain and plugging pure mud for ages. Changeable is best description..

So tyres like (I ride on Continental X King), Continental X King Protection Black Chilli, Maxxi's, Maxxi Exo Minion Front, Continental Trail King, Ardent Race. Bitey tyres that will not hold onto mud essentially !!!

@kenriley, until I can't do it anymore...it's my lifeline now.

@kenriley, @Nickbeee I'm running Maxxis Minions, 2.5's front and rear right now, lots of grip. I'm mostly on dry, loose stuff, so have got to be careful of high speed washouts, especially on off-camber switchbacks.

I've heard of some of the places you mentioned on the YouTube channels I watch. The guys on there crack me up, especially Martyn Ashton. They're on EMBN and GMBN on YT. They have nice riding and tech tips, and some hilarious commentary.

Some of the vids I've seen of Scotland were pretty hairy; quite rocky and somewhat trecherous. I was there 2 years ago for a really nice vacation with my daughter. No biking though. It's my ancestral homeland, I'm a Robertson.

I'm sorry. Would you mind if I asked why you "converted"?

@Condor5 I'm not entirely sure. There's something highly addictive and exquisitely beautiful in the sheer cruelty of road racing.

@Jnei it scares the hell out of me. We have way too many stupid and distracted drivers here; and many of my friends have gotten seriously hurt scraping ghe pavement.

@Condor5 It's the same here, and I imagine you too have drivers who feel they're justified in "punishing" cyclists for being different/not paying road tax (in fact, nobody in the UK has paid road tax since 1937 when it was abolished.) It's just as terrifying even on closed roads - I've seen riders fall at 80kph+ on Alpine descents and it's not pretty.

@Jnei oh, my. I've heard stories and seen some vids, but never personally experienced any backlash like that. If I ride on the road at all, it's just to get to a trailhead. I wish you well and hope you don't get caught up in any of that.

Well, OK.

Actually, I live and bike in So Cal also, and am riding an ebike. Where do you ride?

I was just interested to talk to a Brit about a number of things, like riding conditions, trail access, etc.

Do you watch Youtube vids at all?

@Condor5 My favorite place to ride is in/near Joshua Tree or big bear, but I only get out there to do that every couple months. Around here I sometimes do the beach (fat bike on sand) or a local park (I'm near Seal Beach). I did the Fullerton Loop once and it was alright. I'm hoping to make it out to OC more; there are some good and very challenging rides out near Irvine Regional Park and Modjeska canyon. Most of the time I ride I just do road near my house. I've never MTB in the UK but I hear South Downs (not far from where I used to live) is great for it.

I do watch a few youtube MTB vids, like Seth's Bike Hacks. I might go to Moab this summer so I'm starting to research trails there. I'm not a "hardcore" MTB guy... no insane single track... at my age I'd rather not break any bones!

@Spooner, you might like Old Man, Fat Bike on YT. he's an older guy who rides his fat-tired bike around where he lives, it looks like. He's kind of funny, too.

I live in Corona and ride down Blackstar Canyon from Skyline Dr. On the Corona side. Blackstar goes down by the Irvine Lake area, and it's a pretty nice ride. There's an old Mission Indian encampment a few miles in that's pretty neat.

The Laguna area has some pretty radical singletracks, more for the younger, hardcore guys, imo. Then there's Chino Hills State Park off the 71. I think you can get in there from somewhere in Yorba Linda, too.

I got spoiled up in Ventura County, so many really good trail systems there.

I went to Moab twice; 2004 and 2005. Coolest place to bike. The Porcupine Rim Trail is the best trail I've ever ridden. Not sure I could ride it anymore, though. If you drive to Moab going up through Vegas and northern Nevada, just a ways into Utah is St. George. There's some decent riding there, and a bit farther up the road is Gooseberry Mesa, a high plateau that is mostly slickrock and, like the Slickrock Trail in Moab, the trail is marked by painted dots-very easy to follow. Just be sure to go to those places before it gets too hot.

Anyway, you can find vids of many rides in all those places on YT.