I have an unrelated question ... why was this moved out of Road Cycling and into General? Sounds to me like the OP wants to get into road cycling, so it would make more sense to leave it there. I'm not familiar with the Giant Defy ... but I presume it's a road bicycle, not a hybrid or something like that. And the OP didn't give any indication that he rode his first 8 miles on a MUP.
midmobikes ... welcome to road cycling, and feel free to post your rides on our regular Weekend Rides thread in the Road Forum. You don't have to race, or do club rides, or anything special to post in that forum, and especially in that thread. You just have to ride your road bicycle on the road.
This week's Weekend Ride thread ...
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...February-11-12