I've been away for a while but now back and just want to congratulate you on The Birthday and on the plans for The Bike. I've got a Ruby (Comp) and absolutely love her. I've no knowledge of the Apex system but am trying out clipless pedals. I have one suggestion, based on a close encounter with tarmac that I've had, is to get the pedals that are two-sided so you can comfortably practise your gear shifting without being committed to fixing in your feet. My mistake was trying to learn two things at once and my error with the gears led me to stall and overbalance onto the right side and only remembered too late that my right foot was still attached! No big harm done on that occasion but could have been nasty if the road had been a busy one. Trouble with parking-lot practice is that, in my experience, they tend to be on level ground so not a place for trying out gears on hills... I'm getting on better with the gears now so (if it would KINDLY stop snowing!) I feel ready to put in the cleating practice. Good luck to you and looking forward to seeing your pics and hearing how you get on.