Nah, if you started telling funny stories, I'd stick with you just for the amusement factor! I did find the bike kind of lonely, actually. I do a good part of my "training" (if you can call it that) alone, but I prefer riding with friends when I can. For me the ride went by quickly - and it wasn't really difficult. No real hills to speak of. I ate my Gu halfway through and wanted to puke on the spot. Nassssty stuff, that. It wasn't challenging at all, but I felt like my heartrate was fairly high and I was only going about an average of 18mph. I think that had a lot to do with my lack of overall conditioning.

I ride a road bike that my friend built. He's a pro cyclist, and he gets stuff at cost so it cost me about 1/4 of what I would have paid. It's got a no-name frame (Tsunami) and has mostly Dura-Ace components. My cranks are Shimano 105s and so is the front derailleur, and I have an Ultegra "flight deck?" (shifters/brakes/hood thingies). My wheels are 650s - Mavic XP21, I think. No aero bars. So really it's a road bike. And I have a PINK saddle (the rest of the bike is black, so I felt entitled to some color - not to mention it made it easy to find in transition!)