After having completely given up on the old Raleigh road bike which refused to cooperate on Friday, I ventured in to my local bike shop (the “Off Ramp” on El Camino) to look at new bikes on Sunday.  After reading for awhile on the various types of bikes, I was convinced that I needed either a hybrid or a comfort bike.  The comfort bikes didn’t seem as well-tuned towards long-distance rides, so I was leaning towards the hybrids.  After actually getting into the shop, though, I was pretty impressed by the ads for the Electra Townie 21–enough so to give it a test ride.  That was enough for me.  For a complete bike noob like myself, being able to sit upright (and look around at traffic) felt so much more natural that I won’t even try to put it into words.  The guy at the shop assured me that although they were a little heavier than a hybrid, the Townie was plenty fast and a good commuter bike.  The price tag was right around what I was expecting–$410 for the bike, plus $35 for a rear rack, $15 for a frame-mounted pump, and $40 for Uncle Sam.I made it in to work today in around 35 minutes–with full feeling remaining in both hands.  I’m getting the hang of the gears already (which I never really did on the Raleigh’s friction shifters).  Being able to sit up straight also meant that my rear end wasn’t nearly as sore afterwards.  After getting to work, I did some searches for reviews on the Townie–and almost all of them were overwhelmingly positive.  The consensus I got from most of them is that it’s a great bike for first-time bikers and good for commutes up to around 10-15 miles (mine is 3.6 each way).  Assuming I’m not completely dead by the time I get home today, I’m going to try to ride in to work every day this week.