Thanks to everybody who posted on this thread. I purchased my new bike today after testing a few.

I visited and spoke with Velo in Atwater Village, Bicycle's John's in Burbank, Helen's in Manhattan Beach, Open Road in Pasadena and Incycle in Pasadena. I had a good experience in all of the shops. Every one was very patient and took time to talk and answer my questions. Steve at Open Road was especially good. After I told him what I was looking for he backed up and started with a basic interview about my riding to make sure that I was asking for the right thing.

I ended up buying from Incycle. First I scheduled a time to test three models I was interested in. Turns out I didn't need too much time on each ride. I ran a quick 2 mile course, first on my bike, then on the other three. I used my pedals for all of the rides. For each ride I had the seat height adjusted and centered and the tires inflated to 100 psi.

I tested a Specialized Allez Comp, a CAAD10 5 105, and a Synapse Disc 5 105. Thought I was gonna end up with the Synapse but I walked away with the CAAD10. I was surprised at how much lighter and more compliant the CAAD10 felt over the Allez. And the relaxed geometry that I was looking forward to from the Synapse was too upright for me; also the ride felt sluggish after the CAAD10.

I would've tested several more bikes at different shops but I lucked into a big sale on Cannondales with 105. I loved how the CAAD10 felt so I jumped on the deal. I'm glad I took the time to test ride.