Someone once told me, "if you don't want to buy a road bike, don't ride one". Boy was that the truth. After years of hacking around on a mountain bike, I rode a road bike and had to have one. After suffering a few sleepless nights of sticker shock at the prices, I spent way more than I wanted, but have never regretted it. BTW, I was working out 1 to 1.5 hours every day on an elliptical/weights, and once I started riding, I almost DOUBLED my calorie consumption.