Thanks for the great advice, everyone!

Someone mentioned glasses - I wear prescription lenses. I used to work in industry and I think I remember remember where to get safety glasses, but what are the other options for cycling?

I specifically wanted to address this one:

Quote Originally Posted by tzvia View Post
I would think that any lingering neck issues should be the first thing on the list to address. Range of motion issues? Pain? Issues with vibrations or pounding, holding your head UP while riding a road bike with 'drop bars'?
Neck is stable at this point, and range of motion is pretty much back to normal. This was already a weak point in my neck and I was in karate and took a hard blow to the head, causing a whiplash effect. The result was Peyton Manning's injury - pretty much exactly (weak left arm with numbness down to my index finger). I was able to get away without the fusion, fortunately. He went in and removed the problem parts of the disk, but left enough there to avoid the fusion.

The doctor didn't put any specific limitations on me (although he did advise no more high impact contact sports when I asked how I could avoid being back in his office). Knowing some of what contributed to it, I've put limits on myself. No high impact sports (even running), little to no weight on the shoulders (no heavy backpacks and I don't even carry a shoulder-strap purse any longer), and make sure I'm wearing a good supportive bra (chest size contributed to the strain on the neck). Oh - and posture, posture, posture. I feel the nerve getting twitchy if I'm in a twisted or off balance position for too long (off balance from side to side). At this point, I don't think the positioning on a bike would be an issue, as the spine is not continually twisted to right or left. So far in spin, as long as I'm careful with keeping my shoulders down and elbows relaxed, I haven't had a problem.

Part of any conditioning needs to be strengthening the muscles in the neck, shoulders, and back as well.

Thanks for your advice! I clipped most of the rest of it, but I did appreciate the advice on materials and how they absorb the road vibrations.