ok, i picked up the new bike on Thursday--a Trek Pilot 2.1 at a good price-- $1,000 for a 2006 model. Once the bike was fit, it was remarkedly more comfortable and I don't have a "crunched up" feeling any more.

Everyone's advice was very helpful. I ultimately spent much less than my budget because I just wasn't confident that I would love road biking and I was not able to "feel" much of a difference among bikes ranging $1,000 - $2,699. After a whole five days, it still feels as if I made the correct choice for me.

I'm still adjusting to or need to change the: shifting, saddle, and pedals.

On my Trek 7500fx, I had ridden enough to "know" what gear I was in, but I still had the option of looking at the dials. On the new bike, I don't have a clue of what gear I'm in and there are no dials for me to look at quickly. It will take time.

The saddle -- yikes. Still researching various saddle options to figure what to swap out for. I definitely won't be riding a century until I get this situation improved!

The bike came w double-sided SPD with temporary platform on one side. I am going to the bike shop tomorrow to put platform pedals w toe clips (no straps). Even though I use SPD on the spin bike at the gym, it is too much for me to change everything at once. And as I live in Manhattan, the idea of falling sideways in NYC traffic, even in slow motion, isn't too appealing. I will save that new challenge for the future.

Thank you everyone for your help.