Congrats on the riding today. I on the other hand am sitting at a hotel in Kansas City. As for your choices of bikes, both look good. I have a Giant MT Bike; http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/03...003&model=10636
and a Giant OCR1 full carbon road bike. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/03...005&model=11144
I love them both. I've put over 1500mi on the road bike in the last 9 months.
And yes walking up steps after a long ride sucks. Even worse is riding 85mi, then driving home for 45min then trying to walk up the stairs to the master bedroom and bath to shower. Not easy. Can you say lactic acid buildup.
Lastly, they don't make seats for big guys. I'm on my 4th saddle for my road bike. I had one that I did alot of riding on, including a century, but have started a quest for something lighter/nicer. Here is what I'm trying now. http://www.performancebike.com/shop...tegory_ID=5210#
Luckily I buy all my saddles from my local Performance Bike Shop and they let me return and exhcange after riding for a week or so. We'll see.
sean