I hope to be able to try some bikes this weekend. Last weekend it was raining, so all I did was chat with a salesperson. A lot of the bikes on the floor had no pedals. Is this because they assume you'll have a preference and/or shoes for specific models? The guy asked me if I'd be bringing my own shoes when I came for a test ride. I had to give him a blank expression "Uh... No, don't have those yet." Should I just bring my gym shoes and not worry about it? (I did buy some bike shorts already.)

Also, I have no trouble envisioning clipless pedals. I got used to toe clips easily enough, and clipless seems like a big improvement. Do you all like the double-side ones, or do you use "regular"? I don't have the term yet. These new fangled things, I tell 'ya! The thing I didn't like about toe clips was that they were upside down and had to be flipped.

Thanks again for all the great advice.
Amy