Bike Forums - Hello from Ca, New Rider

Hello everyone,
I'm a new 19 year old cyclist from California and this is my first post.
I just bought my first real bike, a 2012 Specialized Sirrus Elite.
Originally began looking at bikes when I went to put street tires on my 10 year old, cheap mountain bike for commuting.
At first i wanted a bike solely for commuting to school, I am a college student, and around town, but because of my need to research everything I get interested in, I began wanting a bike to go on all sorts of nice rides. After i picked it up I went on a nice little hour and a half or so ride, and I loved it, and my new bike. Because my hands were sore from riding my mountain bike for a couple weeks, and because of discussions on this forum I had bar ends installed right away and I can tell it was worth it! After that one ride, and a couple around town, the seat and the seam of my pants literally rubbed me raw in a pretty sensitive part of my body haha. I was already a little sore from my short commutes, but man, it hurt pretty bad, so yesterday I went out and bought a pair of shorts and went on maybe a two hour ride. I can't explain how much better it felt! ha
Also, I have a few back problems and riding actually really seems to help.
Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and say that this hobby has really sucked me in pretty quickly!
Looking forward to my time here!