I've been "mountain biking" for 25 years. I use air-quotes because there ain't no mountains around here, although in central Florida we DO have some pretty hilly country. We have 35+ miles of off-road bike trails (mixed with separate horse and hiking trails) all through deep woods with tree canopy overhead. It's very well maintained.
They recently they added a paved road that parallels the trails for people with non-mountain bikes, skaters, or people who just want to walk and push a stroller. It's nice because I like to bike out on the dirt trails and then take the easy ride back to the car on the paved road. There's no potable water anywhere on the trail so I carry a CamelBak with a 2 liter water bladder, and because I'm paranoid, I carry EVERYTHING I need to survive the night if something happens (less likely nowadays but 22 years ago before reliable cell phones and no GPS it was a real possibility), and emergecy repair tools. Yes, I even carry emergency toilet paper
I started biking those trails 22 years ago on a very reliable Trek 4300 mountain bike that served me well (and survived several crashes) for nearly 2 decades:
Being 6' 4" tall, though, 4 years ago I decided to upgrade to a modern Feit 29" carbon fiber mountain bike with fat tires that's a lot easier on my legs and a LOT lighter if I wreck the gear and have to carry it out:
The wife does not mountain bike. She has lower back problems and ca't ride a normal bike, but she does ride a semi-recumbant bike called a ReBike (sadly no longer manufactured) that she loves, and we just ride around the paved trails here in town:
