Chomping at the Bit for La Ruta

I've been chomping at the bit to do some mountain biking even though Thys has me working mainly on my aerobic base on the road, so I broke out the old Mongoose. Now, I'm sure Mongoose is a good brand and that the bike can't be all that bad, but it's literally ten years old and there's no suspension whatsoever. To make matters worse, I decided to ride it around the Border Trail at Durant Lake, which I think, is insanely root-y (if there is such a word). Hopefully, that is the cause of the soreness I'm feeling in my knees right now. So, I've decided to stick to Thys' advice and stay on my Kuota or Giant OCR2 until I pick my trusty steed for La Ruta. Whatever I choose it will be my fourth bike, which is kind of crazy considering I never considered myself a bike person. I had thought about selling the Mongoose at a yard sale, but I think it's got one more big event: a reunion ride at Mission Man in 2008! Don't hold me to this, but I'm thinking that to celebrate my 5th running of the Mission Man sprint, I will go retro and ride it on the same mountain bike I used at Mission Man in 2004, which was my first ever triathlon.