Three years ago, looking for a form of exercise I truly enjoyed, I bought a Trek 7100 hybrid. DH also bought one. It has been a great choice -- after spending time at our LBS shop, we chose the hybrids because we didn't expect to set any distance or speed records and wanted a bike that would be okay on neighborhood rides, country roads, bike paths and campground paths. We chose the lower price range because they were WAY better than the WalMart bikes we had and we didn't want to make a significant investment until we were sure we would ride them often.

I now regularly ride 8 - 10 miles at least 3-4 nights during the week and, if schedules permit, longer rides on the weekend. I've lost 70 lbs (still have about 20 stubborn lbs to go) and I love the time I spend on the bike -- it's been a healthy lifestyle change, a confidence builder and I love the feeling of freedom I have when I'm taking a bike ride. At first, I hated riding without DH. Now, I actually prefer riding solo -- I can go where and how far I want. I spend most of my time on the biggest chain ring. I rarely go to the smallest chain ring. I also no long go out of my way to avoid hills. I deal with them as they come! Most of my riding is in town and in the country roads surrounding town. Some bumpy, some smooth. Bike paths and campgrounds are where many weekend rides take place.

Now to my question(s) -- is the hybrid still a good choice for the riding I'm doing or should I think about switching to a road bike? I like the position on the hybrid, but I've never ridden a road bike. If the hybrid still seems to be a good choice, would there be any advantages (speed, climbing hills, gears available, etc) that I would experience by going to a higher end hybrid? Also, the road bikes I've noticed at my LBS are much pricier than the hybrids. What kind of $$ am I looking at to get a decent road bike. (DH is perfectly happy with the bikes we have, so I'll have to negotiate/convince him that spending the $$ is justified if I do decide to upgrade).

I appreciate all of the wisdom on this board!