I am new to this forum and have found it helpful already! I am already hooked! Sometime in September, I decided to go buy a bike because I wanted to start exercising my recently retired body (59 1/2 and holding). So, I bought a hybrid Schwinn and a bike rack at one of the several bike shops in my area and made my way to a well-known bike path nearby. I was sooooooo excited about my new found sport and the discovery of MANY bike paths in the Washington DC area, that within the next couple weeks I decided I wanted to go faster. Anothor LBS steered me to buy a Trek 7.3FX, but after a couple rides, this bike made my hands hurt. They were kind enough to allow me to trade it in for a more upscale Trek 7500 hybrid. I love this bike, BUT, again I wanted to go faster! Soooooo, I went to Hudson Outfitters and they showed me this Dolce made by Specialized which is an entry level road bike. I liked the features, such as the ribbon with gel and the carbon fork to alleviate hand pain. I also like the dual break levers for safety purposes. It's a small 44cm frame which I assume is correct for a 5'3" person. Mind you, within the last 2 months I have bought and now own 3 bikes! (I retired my Schwinn to the recreation room and put it on a trainer for the winter months! Good Lord, I've gone mad!)

Now then, my issue is whether my aging body can handle this road bike! I am experiencing some elbow/wrist/hand pain on the left arm (previously injured when I fell on this elbow and bruised the nerve about 3 years ago) and then just hand pain on the right. I have the gel gloves which helps, and my handlebars are slightly higher than my seat. I do not "feel" as if I'm tilted forward, but who knows. I really like to go fast, so I wanted to give this road bike a shot but I do not tolerate pain well and do not want it to hinder my golf game! Should I just stick to my hybrid or do you think there is hope for me my on a road bike? Do I need to be fit by a LBS or do you think Hudson Outfitters can do as good a job? (They seem to have knowledgeable people and a bike repair shop.) Thanks for any suggestions. Lynda