thanks for the reply, road fan.
I will check out the rivbik site. I think the size issue will be a big one for me. There are not a lot of women with my proportions so I think I am going to have a hard time with size. I wonder if it is possible to buy a man's frame and have it custom welded to retrofit it for a woman??
And yes, I would like to sit upright. Ladylike! Exactly.
There are a lot of hills near where I live. Some are very steep and I would avoid them like most other people. Because of the hills, a good selection of smoothly working gears would be nice.