bikes bikes and more bikes

they said bike shopping could be overwhelming. i wish someone would just say here, buy this one. if only it could be that easy. i read about the Specialized Dolce and figured that would be a good starter bike for me. i want a road bike that i can really spend time on but i have no interest in spending a lot of money. the dolce seemed to be the answer. i called and put one on hold at Habitat. R met me there and we checked out the bike. he talked me out of it right away. it has two sets of breaks and plastic parts. the guy at the store even admitted that it was a crappy bike but would be fine for the tri. but i really couldn't justify spending $800 on something that was considered crap. i checked out some of the Lemond bikes but they didn't have anything in stock that was my size. so we left and headed up to NY Velo. I was so glad he was with me because i really didn't know what i was doing and i blame him for getting me into this sport anyway. at velo i tested two bikes. a kona Lisa and a Scott Contessa Speedster. The kona was a 2006 and hard to ride and shift gears. the Contessa was smooth. i loved it. its on hold and i'm going back next week to buy. i hope i'm making the right decision. some people buy bikes around 450 and i know i could but i don't want to hate the bike or outgrow it right away. R wanted me to get a bike with good parts and a decent frame. he just didnt want me to spend the money on junk. he was able to help me negotiate a good price and i think i'll be really happy with the bike. i'm nervous about the clipless pedals and all of the other necessary modifications. S is coming back to the shop with me saturday to pick it up. i know i'm lucky to have people in my life who know much more about this than i do. even all of the articles i've been reading about bikes are confusing. they all say something different. and the guys at the shop contradict everything i read. i still dont understand why women specific design bikes tend to come with flowers and rainbows and other ridiculous girlie designs. i had a pink bike when i was ten. the saddle was a banana seat.