Go with what you feel comfortable on. When I bought my road bike, after years of mountain biking, I was terrified. I rode 23 miles and put it up for an entire year. The speed was too much for me, as was the traffic. This from a person who actually mountain biked in the desert mesas across...tadah!...mountains!

Ok, will a hybrid work? Let's see....are the tires aired up? Are your legs working? Is speed a factor at all or are you just interested in finishing? You should have seen some of the bikes we saw in the Hotter N Hell 100 this past August. A couple of boys actually rode unicyles!

The more you are out on the road the more confident you will become and you will know what works for you. Never arrive at at an event feeling inferior, as there will always be someone out there who has pulled out 1970's ten speed, or a K-Mart Huffy (not knocking these bikes at all) or even a tricycle.

Oh, and when I first started road cycling I rode one day with a woman who was on hybrid. Other than smoking her on the hills she just kicked my *** every way to Sunday on that ride.

Just remember, you are the engine the bike is the chassis. Don't ditch the new hybrid quite yet. Just get used to the whole feel of being out there on the road, and by all means, don't do what I did and chicken out after one ride and park the thing for an entire year.