Help!! need advice on buying a bike

[zia]

I just bought my first road bike. Definitely a little stressful. But: take the time to figure out what you want. Can you borrow from a friend or inexpensively rent a road bike for a few months just to get a sense of what you like/dislike for longer than a ride around a parking lot?

It really helped me to understand the different component groups, frame materials, and geometries, and what they all meant to me in terms of my own riding goals. I did this through my own research, talking to more experienced bikers, and lots of test riding.

I am short but longer-torso-ed (no long legs, alas), an I didn't think I was a candidate for WSD, but lo and behold: that's what I'm on. The narrower handlebars, easier to reach brake levers, woman-specific saddle, and, in my case, smaller wheels, all added up to a level of comfort that I just never experienced on a frame with wider handlebars and bigger wheels. But it took me lots of test-riding to realize that.

My goal for my first road bike was to get something that could grow with me but not get something too expensive I'd feel guilty about moving on (if I needed to) as I understood myself better as a rider. But that's just me.