I'd suggest doing some more testing before you get the bikes.
Here's what happened to my sister. She did not like drop handlebars, so she got a hybrid flat bar Trek and her husband got a normal road bike. She road it 3 times and then gave up because it was too hard. Her husband is now on his third Trek. [He just likes to trade bikes, not because the bikes were bad]. She now has a new Trek with normal road bars. For comfort they adjusted the height of the bars so it feels much like a hybrid but with the option of more body positions. She is happier, and will ride from time to time. She basically doesn't like riding partially because it's hard work to get in shape and partially because her husband likes to zoom zoom zoom and that's too high of a challenge for her.
The 7500 is not a bad bike, but others might be better buys. Remember most bike paths, and esp. Multipurpose paths are too dangerous for adult bike riding. They are designed for child bike riding. Think about it, a slow adult cyclist will go about 12 mph. A fast adult cyclist will cruise at about 20mph. People walk at about 3 mph and often have hazards like dogs on leashes and strollers with them. A slow adult will be traveling 4x faster and peds don't expect to react quickly when they are strolling. A fast adult will be traving about 7x faster. Not much reaction time. Point is to plan your purchase for riding on the road and not just paths.
Alternative bikes:
Trek Portland, list 1.7K. Will carry a ton of stuff and handle any weather.
Trek XO, list 1.4K. Can be dialed in for hybrid like feel and then adjusted later for road feel as your skills and strength improve.
Trek 520, list 1.2K. Just a basic good bike. See comments on XO.
Raleigh Sojourn, list 1.1K. Similar to Portland, disc brakes, rack, ready for any weather. Slightly lower grade components to save you $600/bike over Portland.
Good luck and have fun.