Thanks for all the helpful??? advice No seriously, thanks for the posts. Everything posted has made me think a little bit longer and harder about this. The only unfortunate thing, is there's already snow on the ground around here, so test rideing anything is out of the question for now. Plus, all the bike shops around here are also ski/snowboard shops, so all the bikes are off the floor. I'll still probably head in to the shops, maybe start asking some questions, feeling the shops out, get them to measure me up so I know what I'm looking for measurement wise at least.
One additional question, what would be some good sites online to check out? Go to manufacturer's homepages? Or retailers? I've checked out Wrenchscience, Bikewholesales, GVH, and a couple others I can't think of at the moment.
Unfortunatly, by nature, I'm a fairly mindset individual, in that once I get my mind on something, that's what I work for. And for the most part, it happens. So any fuel I have to help lead me down that path to my mind set, before I stupidly pick something myself would be great.
Thanks again. Being a newbie, everyone's been a big help, glad to be here.