new rider buying first bike!

[nolagal]

Looking for suggestions from experienced female riders on a decent first road bike. I'm 29 yrs. old and live in New Orleans, LA. (so the terrain is flat) I've done some riding, but never on a bike of my own. My goals are to train and to race; with the ultimate goal of riding in the Ride for the Roses next year (in honor of a friend w/ cancer). I have looked at Trek, Cannondale, Schwinn, Fuji and am overwhelmed! My price range is $500-$800. What would you rec for a respectable bike that will be good to train on and hopefully ride in Austin next year! Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

 

[zotma]

hey, dunno if I'm the right kind of experienced;
rode stacks when young, shelved it for the whole fam/kid thing
now back into it (a few years older than you)
so I had to get a new bike recently
I think some of the best advice I got was;
get the best frame you can and upgrade other parts as necessary
check out the closeouts from last year! (Specialized, Giant, Fuji, K2, etc. have some good deals on older models)
test ride then test ride then test ride some more
it really is about the fit
(I could have had a 'better bike' as far as parts went but when it came down to fit, I went with my Giant TCR 04 (budget and all considered))
ask lots of questions and read all you can (like on these boards, a great resource imo).
oh yeah, and do you have a good LBS? I found them really helpful in getting the right final fit with adjustments and such. don't be afraid to stick it out and make sure everything is set just right on the bike for you, bring it back in and fiddle around with it if not.
sounds like you've got great goals, I wish you the best of luck!