Yes, I'm a newbie and probably know less then 1% of you experts so please be kind :)

I might be ready to graduate from my Giant Sedona to a road bike or something else.

Last year I purchased the Sedona and I've been riding 5 to 6 hours a week with about 2 hours on the longest days. Now I'd like to ride into town, to the beech (not on the beech) and basically just get some where.

When I leave my house I have to ride on grass for at least 3/4 of a mile before I get to any place with interesting bike trails or roads and I'll have to ride on sidewalks and more dirt to actually get to the beech.

I borrowed a friend's Iron Horse road bike and I was averaging 16 mph where I normally average 12 mph so I'm interested in a 2nd bike. The problem is that riding it on the grassy part of my ride is brutal. I had to go very slowly in order to keep my butt on the seat because the bike was bouncing so much.

My question to the experts, or at least everyone here that knows more then me, what should I consider for my next bike? I think my Sedona was fitted too small and I've put lighter, smoother and faster tires on it.

Should I consider a straight road bike, a cruiser, a touring bike? My budget is under $500 and I want something faster then my Sedona but still friendly when not on smooth highways.

Any thought?

Steve
I went pretty much the same route you've taken when I re-started riding semi-seriously around five years ago now. My main observation - it's possible to drip away a lot more money over time than the cost of buying one decent bike and getting on with it!

Looking back, I have no idea why I didn't just go buy a road bike in the first place and get stuck in. Obviously, the 30 year gap in my cycling must have made my mind go fuzzy, so I went out and bought a comfort bike - the most uncomfortable of the lot - a mountain bike, a cyclo-cross cum tourer (I always hated 'touring' ) and, finally, got myself what I should have gotten in the first place. The only "economies" there were beloved of the bike shop I bought most of them from

So, if you want to ride on roads for anywhere near decent distances, get the road bike - there's a reason its called that! Keep your Sedona for going to the beach. Unfortunately, any bike that's at home on roads is not going to care for bumping over grass. Hate to sound smart, but going slow until you reach the tarmac might be your answer.

Your budget - that's down to you. You're going to be a bit cramped for a road bike - a few years back, we bought wifey's eldest a Trek 1000. Durn good machine with slightly fatter tyres and a decent riding position that will adapt to most from casual to pretty enthusiastic riders, but still a good solid road going machine and good service to back it up, but they're a couple hundred over your cookie jar. Buying over the internet must be down to you. You might get a 'bargain' but you will have to figure out the size you purchase and might incur further costs in getting it ridable, plus after-sales service will be near to non-existent.

Hope that helps

Dereck

a cyclocross bike would be great for pavement speed, and stability on grass and packed dirt. but i dont know if you are going to find one under $500.

Thanks for the input. I could wait a bit longer and increase my budget if needed. I live in South Carolina and it's warm enough to ride all year long and in fact it may be too hot to ride in July and August.

I do have a local bike shop owner that actually mentioned Bikes Direct and said he'd be happy to fit the bike and do maintenance on it. I went to the store with an old friend of his so I don't think he makes that offer to everyone.

The cyclocross concept sounds interesting to me but I'd have to increase by budget a bit which could be done if I wait longer. Maybe until then I'll just go slow on grass as Dereck recommends :)

Thanks again
~Steve