New Toy Alert: Trek 4500 Mountain Bike

I've been meaning to get a bike for quite some time now and after having a most wonderful time last weekend riding the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda to Georgetown I finally decided to bite the bullet. I wasn't going to spend $1000 on my first "real" bike (even though it's exteremely easy to do so), so I did some researching and came up with 3 brands under $500. I was choosing between a GT Avalanche 1.0, the Trek 4500 and the Specialized Rock Hopper. In the end I went with the Trek 4500 mostly because it got a lot of reviews from 200+ lb guys (like myself) and it's made in the USA (well mostly anyway). Here's a pic of my new toy. Mine is the same color and style as the pic except I subbed out the tire rubbers for a less aggressive tread for riding on paved trails and sidewalks.