Granted, I only skimmed the responses. But how many different styles of road bike have you ridden recently? Until you know what a sports/touring bike, or a loaded touring bike, or a cross bike, or a road racing style bike feels like, you'll be just guessing. When I first got back into cycling I decided to get a loaded touring bike, because I reasoned it would be just fine given I was never going to race. I rode it for about six months before I tried a a road racing style frame. Fifteen minutes on that bike change my mind rather quickly. It's like the difference between driving a fully loaded mini-van or a an Audi A8. They are just worlds apart.