To off-road or not to off-road

Many of my fellow cyclists spend time riding off-road. This is something I haven't tried before, although I'm sure I would enjoy it. Here's a jumble of my thoughts. I hope spelling them out will help me sort out whether or not to venture down the off-road path.

I've ridden road bikes -- touring frames specifically -- for almost 30 years now. It's no small part of how I see myself.

Each road bike I've owned worked fine for commuting, touring, and group rides around town. In most groups, it may only be the back rack that might stand out. Otherwise, this single bike blends in with most riders I ride with. If I were to take up off-road riding however, I would get another bike. More on another bike later. It's probably worth a post by itself that as much riding I do (about 100 miles/week) that I would have at least a couple of bikes to spread the load across.

There are off-road trails reachable by bike, but many of the better trails you would drive to. I'm against getting in a car to ride a bike. This is one of my "good ride, better ride" comparisons.

At first glance, the off-road bike would be purely recreational, but I can see the off-road bike serving as a suitable urban knock-about as well. If sufficiently beat up, I'd feel more comfortable about leaving it outside of the grocery store for example.

Since I'm in my late 40s, keeping in shape has depended on staying injury-free. I've got a friend my age who recently messed up his knee off-road. I get bummed out missing 2-3 days of riding much less several weeks.

If I were to get an off-road bike, I'd probably find a used frame and build it up. I'd actually enjoy doing this and may build out a frame for the fun of it whether it becomes my off-road bike or not.

Acquiring a bike probably isn't an issue, but keeping it in the house may be. My wife doesn't understand that a man needs more than one bike.

I've mentioned my situation with a few cycling friends and they suggested I try out bikes they aren't using. This might be a way to ease myself into this. Another option is to try renting a bike at the trail when I happen to be near one already.

For those that have gone down this path, I'm interested to hear their experiences.