"This" is not "That"

So I am new to the whole triathlon training thing.  I decided last November that I was going to do this and I have been pretty steadfast in training.  Because Winter around here means very cold temperatures, icy roads and snowbanks that impede the roads, running outside is a maybe and biking has been a no-until this week.
I am loving on the spring weather and I am very excited to take my training to the great outdoors.  I have spent the past two months on treadmills, and stationary bikes.  This is where the fun part comes in.

When I announced to a group of my friends my goal of a Tri, one of them asked if I had a bike.  I do not so he said I could borrow his till I got one of my own.  It is a Giant OCR3-I think.
He told me the gear system is probably different than I am used to but I would be fine.  The bike has since sat in the vacant office next to mine since the middle of January.  I have not transported it home because I have no way of doing that, no bike rack, no room in the Jeep.
Yesterday gorgeous, sunny, 55 degrees-so I decidedyesterday would be the day that I would saddle up and ride it home.  Went a bought a helmet, ate a Clif bar, suited up in my bike shorts and a warm under armor base layer and away I went.
I quickly found out that "This" being a stationary bike is not "that" the road bike.
I was around about mile one when I got myself mixed up in what button shifted what gear as I panicked going up hill, I heard the tell-tale clunk and the loss of all forward momentum.  Alas I ate my first piece of humble pie, put the chain back on the sprockets and continued on my merry way, not without first riding over to the car wash parking lot to figure out how these things work.
The ride is mostly down hill out of Beach Lake which was nice after the series of little/steep hills.
In an effort to be kind a tractor trailer went around me by way of the median.  The median has a winter's worth of dirt and cinders which were promptly kicked into a thick cloud.  I was blinded for 200 yards and decided I did not want to do that again, maybe I will start wearing my swim goggles-it will make the swim to bike transition just that much faster!
When I got into town I came to a red light in front of the Arby's on route six-for those of you who are not sure what you do at a red light-you stop.  I pulled my foot out of the toe clip, and leaned against the telephone pole.  This is another one of those "this" is not "that" moments because when the light turned green, I was stuck.  I pushed of the telephone pole and tried to put my toe in the clip only to find I did not have enough momentum to go up hill.  I eventually got going up the hill and made it the rest of the way home without incident.
This biking thing is awesome, I am stoked to get better at it and do it more.  If anyone has any pointers...please share.
Peace