Artista, it sounds like you're making fabulous progress. Congrats!

The inlaws were in town this past weekend, so no riding for us, but we're hoping to hit the trails over the 4th or this coming weekend. After much debating, I decided to follow your lead in getting Five Tens and some good pedals, rather than clipless. I ended up with Five Ten Guide Tennies. Based on various reviews, I decided that the Karvers would likely be too wide (although I would like to try them sometime). The Guides fit well, although because they're not truly a cycling shoe, it remains to be seen whether they're stiff enough.

I also ordered Straightline AMP pedals. There were several decent contenders, so I hope that I like them. My bike, a Santa Cruz Juliana, is a really pretty azure blue. It has little bits of red the stem cap, fork, and bars, so I went bold and got the pedals in red, too. We'll see how they look. I'm eager to try the new set up.