Quote Originally Posted by Diggles
And I went back to my shop...
I'm looking at this one:

Clicky

Anyone start on or even still use this bike? I feel like a complete dope asking for help at the shop. Me: Hi, I'm a moron...sell me something I know nothing about. Them: We love people like you.
My first "real bike" (read: over $20) after 10 y.o. was the Trek 7100 FX. The "performance" one. I quickly got a road bike after that but I rode it once after riding my road bike for a while and was impressed at how well it rolled. Nice bike.

I'd suggest getting the "performance" instead of the "comfort" type... You'll be comfy enough on the "performance" bike and it will indeed be faster...