I'll try to keep it as short as possible. I haven't been on a bike in probably 15 years. I've been bodybuilding since 1996. I turned pro back in 2003 & as of last year, decided to give up on the whole competitive bodybuilding thing. It's been great, but REALLY hard on my body. This past June, my husband & I decided to take up cycling (kind of casually), so we bought a couple of Gary Fischer hybrids. We love them, BUT...here comes the "but"...I don't think I can just stick with the hybrid. I WANT A ROAD BIKE SOOOO BAD NOW! This has now become something more like a passion instead of just something fun to do on weekends. We own a gym & are both in great shape. We've already worked up to riding 35 miles on Saturdays (started mid June with 10 miles). I would absolutely love it if you guys could give me some good advice. I've gotten some guidance, but it's from a several men who race & have for years and a friend (woman) who only rides men's bikes, but I'd love to hear what you ladies have to say.

Ok...I'm 5'5 1/2. My legs aren't long or short. My torso isn't long or short. Right now, I'm trying to downsize from about 170+lbs. to atleast 145-150lbs (losing muscle isn't easy for me). Ok...I've kind of narrowed the choices down to several different bikes. I'm looking in the $2k-3k range. I'd like to just get something that I will be VERY happy with for a long time & possibly use to race some day in the next year or two. I'll admit that I'm EXTREMELY competitive too. I know that I'd like to have Ultegra components, but I'm hearing that the newest version of the 105 is VERY comparable. I'm interested in the Bianchi Mono-Q Ultegra Comp, Bianchi Infinito Ultegra, Specialized Tarmac Comp Compact, Specialized Tarmac Comp Double (I don't understand the difference) & maybe the Giant Alliance O. Would love to hear what you girls think & see if the more compact geometry on some of these would be good for a woman. Remember, I'm very new to all this so any advice would be AWESOME!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!