Congrats! I'm also new & had the same questions. Long story short, the bike shop did my fitting for me so that was easy (my local shop did it for free). The next question was what kind of bike. I was kind of intimidated by the road bike, but I ended up getting the whole deal...carbon & clipless pedals etc....I didn't want to invest then have to re-invest in 6 months b/c I caught the bug. Sure enough, I'm addicted so I'm glad I went in all the way. Of course, all that is personal to what you want and what your pocketbook will allow you to have. The people at the bike shop were really helpful & the people on here are as well. Good luck.