Bike recommendations for a mature newbie female

[Geonz]

So, does she have that bike yet :-)

IMHO the critical factor is FIT, FIt, FIT. It's going to be a different bike for different people. I'm beginning to appreciate my good fortune in having found good LBS people (unfortunately I recommended the joint to a friend who went there when the owner was staffing it and *he* was more of the "this is the bike I'm selling, therefore it's what you want" breed - oh, he went out of business...) They were really gracious to a newbie, told me all kinds of stuff (including a detailed, clinical dissertation on the importance of not putting pressure on soft tissues) even though I was buying (shudder!!) an entry-level hybrid.
I liked the feel of a Bianchi and didn't know why - and they'd sold the one I had test ridden, which was the last of the last year's models I could afford - so they suggested the difference might be the angle of the stem, and traded off stems and sold me a nice Giant (pronounced Gee-aunt since it's part Bianchi) because it really *did* put the angles where they felt good. It's got about 18000 miles on it now. It is a hybrid but with 28's instead of 35's tire-wise which was the best change in the world. REally, tire size is much more important than weight.
She might even try switching off tires on the bike she has, first (especially if she could borrow some).
I also think you don't really know what you like in a bike until you've been riding, so starting at the high end would be risky.