Shifting Gears...

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Aloha everyone!
Second week on my Raleigh Grand Prix and I'm loving it. Still getting used to being on a road bike (hell...a bike in general) but, I'm glad I finally bought one.

Now for newbie question of the month: Can someone PLEASE explain shifting/ the difference of the gears to me? I've never paid much attention to gears in the past but, now that I'm trying to get in to the sport I figure I need to get these down pretty quickly.

Thanks again for the help...Happy St. Patrick's Day :D

Sheldon Brown's website on the topic is a good place to start: http://sheldonbrown.com/gearing/index.html