I think it's been about a month since I originally posted. I'm getting back into biking after many years away. Previously I commuted about 10 miles each way.

Now I will be riding with family and using bike for fitness - we have lots of short steep hills where I live.

After some advice on here I branched out from just looking at hybrids to trying road bikes and thinking about all options and my needs. To my surprise, I found the drop down handlebars on the road bikes much more comfortable than the hybrids. And I realized I wanted a bike for fitness and building strength climbing hills - I bike that will work with me.

Liked some WSD road bikes I tried - especially the Specialized Dolce Elite. But I'm planning to ride on roads with lots of potholes, occasional gravel, railroad tracks and maybe occasionally a flat dirt trail. And I may want to carry groceries. I want a light bike but a tough bike too.

So I think I've found my bike and about to order it it's a pretty light weight touring bike with women's frame (there are no bikes in my area that fit and have slightly wider tires than the road bikes and meet my needs - I've tried all the bike shops and I definitely only fit on the WSD bikes). My one hesitation is bar end shift levers. I wasn't able to try these out in any shop.

Any of you have these shifters - how hard will this be for me as a newbie getting back to biking and given that I have a lot of short hills?

By the way, this is my only hesitation about the bike - I think it's going to fit well and be a great bike otherwise.

Thanks!
Sadie