Hi mimi. I'm a newbie, too. Hubs got me into riding tandem with him last Fall and now I'm awaiting my new Cannondale single to come in. Woo Hoo! Looking forward to doing my first century. Maybe I'll end up doing one around the same time as you. At first I thought I'd better wait until next season to think about a century and just focus on half centuries for now. But hubs and I have done 50 or just under 50 miles a few times now on the tandem, so I can see the reality of doing 100 (though I'm not fooling myself into thinking it will be easy!). Maybe I'll do it on the tandem first with him, then on my own. We'll see. I just can't wait to start riding single ... any day now I hope! (There's some hold up with my frame coming in and it's driving me crazy!)

I highly recommend you have your bike fitted professionally. My husband had a bike for a couple of years, rode it a lot, finally had it professionally fitted and was amazed at the difference. We get every new bike fitted now. (The tandem, his newest bike and pretty soon my new bike.) It's just not worth it to not pay the extra hundred bucks or so.

As for your pain, it's normal to have "some" pain issues when getting used to riding. So, make sure your bike is the right size and fit and then give it a little time to see if your pain issues go away. In my opinion, if you realize your bike isn't the right size for you, don't let your investment in it keep you from getting the right bike. If you have added nice components to it, take them off and sell the frame. Buy the right frame and put your components on that. Just a thought. I'm getting a new frame and putting my husband's components on it from his last really great bike, before he bought his current really greater bike!