Thanks so much for your feedback! I would have gotten back to this thread sooner, but my password has been messed up and I've just today been able to log in.
So I live in a pretty heavily populated area (southern california) and I couldn't find the rykas I was looking for. I went to several stores and they'd have one style or nothing. Finally, I went to Finish Line and they had a pair of Assists on sale for really cheap but the guy told me they were just a walking shoe and I wouldn't want them for impact. He said a lot of places don't actually carry Rykas as they're apparently not as highly regarded as the other brands. I ended up getting Asics Blurs, which were pretty much the only cross trainers that weren't completely hideous (in my opinion). They've been good so far! I got some insoles to go with them too. =)