Reading here has definitely helped me understand more about what I should be looking for. I *think* I want a road bike with relatively relaxed geometry (definitely not a hard-core racing bike). I know I absolutely do not want a bike with straight handlebars again, so drops or Trekking would work.

There are a number of bike shops near me. I found a very large shop in NH, that I want to check out. They have a huge inventory and have a nice dedicated area set up for doing fittings.

I guess part of my questions are how do I know what I don't know? Will I just really need to go ride a few bikes to see what I do/don't like?