Haven’t even rode a bike in 27 years.

Being that you hadn’t ridden in 27 yrs, yes you made a good decision. Not much wrong that can go with that bike. No upgrade recommendations for it yet bc you should ride until you realize you need something. By then I wouldn’t even upgrade it. You would be better off getting a bike that has all that you would need instead of upgrading this one and realizing you need more. This is later down the road, not now.

Also congrats on your new lifestyle. Keep it going as long as you can.

Beautiful bike OP, exactly what I’m looking for as well. Other than maybe experimenting with different rubber, this bike will be up to the task for years. If you break a component you’ll know then if it needs upgrading or if it’s sufficiently rigged. Unless you’ll be doing some hardcore downhill or barely any climbing, I’d stay hard tail. Good luck, ride hard!

Crushed it dude, you did very well within your budget. Easy/cheap upgrades to see more comfort/better rides: grips/bar/saddle/pedals/tubeless/bike computer (for speed and distance).

A slightly more ambitious upgrade could be ditching that entry level rockshock fork for a SID or fox fork. New brakes go a long way too. I’m not sure what’s on there but I bet even magura mt4s would yeild some improvements.

Congrats! I’m rocking my 15 year old trek to get back into it. It’s definately more geared towards gravel but I’ve been slapping it through trail riding anyway. Gonna have to upgrade sooner than later but it serves the purpose for now.