beebe - I can on other bikes. The best explanation I can give is that if I stand I end up tipping to the sides pretty severly; I have no upper body control when standing on this bike (while on other bikes I feel like I can make a 'rigid frame'...while on this one I feel similar to being on a unicycle...nothing to hold onto.) Having nothing on the bike doesn't make it any easier.

Today we hit a few other stores. So far I've been pointed to a specialied sirrus, transend LX, specialized ariel, redline conquest pro (which is higher than I was hoping to spend at 1399), a GT avalance 1.0 Disc, Fuji '10 Nichibe Roubaix, Trek Skye, Trek Wahoo (plus the FX and Neko) and a GT Peace Tour commuter. These bike recommendations are such a huge variety that I don't even know what to make of them. Now, these were all bikes I could sit and ride comfortably. It's interesting that everyone has a different view of what would be ideal for a commuter.