I'd also recommend shopping around at various LBSs. I've noticed that many of them (but not all) seem to be geared to a specific type of rider (racing, mountain, tandem, etc.) They usally carry a lot of different kinds of bikes, and they know a lot about their niche, but they sometimes have a hard time giving lots of options outside of their niche, and may wind up steering you towards something you ultimately don't want. Shopping around is the best way to avoid getting excited b/c the sales guy is excited and then having buyer's remorse later.