Hey all, new to this thread, and actually quite new to biking.

Recently I have been running with my sister and taking exercising more seriously. In training for a half marathon on the 20th, we just completed a 13.1 mile run to prepare. I always loved running however, I wanted to prepare for the next step for myself. I want to get into long distance biking. A friend of mine said I should try to bike 2hrs a day if I can. Obviously at this point I cannot, but I know I will be able to in time.

My questions is: What is a good bike to start with for long distance biking? (My budget is currently anywhere around 250-350$.)

Friends have warned me about buying new bikes, as apparently they are like cars and depreciate rapidly. My concern more so, is buying something that is used and will break on me easily. Need help, thank you!

-Griz