Cross country is honestly so fun, i ride alot with my dad and cousins just for fun, and cross country is alot more work but it will put you in hella good shape. plus its a pretty fun crowd.
Come up here to tahoe and ride some of the trails...intense.
yeah its best to ride with clipless pedals (the ones where your shoe like clicks in, long story why theyre called clipless)
but basically xc is hella fun