Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping to get to a bike dealer at lunch today to check out a Specialized Bike. I did see the Dolce for $850 and liked the look of it. Now I just have to see if I like the fit of it.

Kermit - I'm actually in Boynton Beach...a little north of you. A lot of folks here ride along A1A from Delray Beach down to Deerfield. Right now I'm looking for less trafficky (is that a word?) roads since I will just be starting out.

I've already discovered how addictive the sport is and I haven't even started riding yet. Before doing some research I never realized all that there was to the sport. I thought you just buy a bike, hop on, pedal and off you go. But boy was I wrong. I'm actually really getting into it and can't wait to get a new bike.

I have an old mountain bike which my BF has offered to fix up so I can start out on that, but I almost feel that I should just get a new road bike and not even bother with the mountain bike since the riding will be completely different. I've also discovered how expensive the sport can be but I figure it's all worth it in the end.