Am I a newbie cyclist?

[k2snoboarding4life]

Does it make me a newb or sissy cyclist if my road bike is a triple?

 

[Old Hippie]

Don't most bikes today, road bikes or otherwise, have a triple chainring front crank? To heck with what anyone else thinks. Get on the bike & ride.

BTW...for Mike Ross. I'm way past the "40-50 year old's in mid-life crises grunting and crying going uphill." I'm pushing 60 riding a good hybrid because of arthritis in my lower back. (Wish I could still ride a road bike) Anyway...I laughed & laughed the other day when I blew past a road bike going uphill. The guy appeared to be late 20's - early 30's & grunting all the way up in the wrong gear.

 

[Mick Ross]

Because you ask this question, yes you are a n00b cyclist.
The triple is unapologetic. It says "alright, I have some trouble climbing hills, but I'm not going to blow my knees out halfway up out of hubris." Personally, I think the compact crankset is a copout. It's just as much cheating as a triple, but you pretend that you "prefer the better shifting of a double." In reality, you either have the muscles to push up hill without a lower gear or you don't. Don't be embarassed. Just smile and laugh as you pass all the 40-50 year old's in mid-life crises grunting and crying going uphill.