Mountain Biking - source for info if my lbs is useless???

I just moved to a new location, and there only a couple of bike shops here. For some reason whenever I ask about parts (even bolts or skewers) I always hear...."couple o' weeks". This has been really frustrating, and the level of knowledge on whats what, new bikes, components and etc is lacking quite a bit.

Anybody recommend a good informational site or other that I can tap for info? I could post my questions here, but with my current lack of lbs help, I could load this board with never ending questions.

To me, biking or owning a bike is equal to owning a maintained, well taken care of auto. My bike is a very important part of me, and I like to keep it in prime condition. Or if I intend to do up grades I like to know whats going on, but I am at a serious loss without even a halfway decent shop to go to.

Sorry for the rant (whine, boohoo, sob...etc..)
Just looking for help.

this might be a good place to get started as it has helped me much ;)

Sheldon Brown (http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/hub.html)

also I believe this site has some good info too

Park Tool (http://www.parktool.com/)

that should get you started, another good way to get information on bikes (as this is mostly mechanic stuff) is to check out sites that sell products, you can learn a lot from the product descriptions out there and few are

nashbar (http://www.nashbar.com)
PerformanceBike (http://www.performancebike.com)

and lastly you can always visit your local library and check out books on the subject of bikes or mechanics etc.

hope this helps :)

Time to learn how to do it yourself! I am in the process, working on your bike is much easier than you think. But you must have the right tools. If you have any problems or need advice, this is the place:)

Thats how i learned. I messed around with my bikes for a couple years. Now im a technician