Great post, loCarbJ. It is amazing what a little extra money can do when it comes to bikes. The WalMart/KMart bikes are sooo heavy. It's kind of a shame that that's what most new bicyclists start out on. Over the last couple of years I've gone from a 12 year old Schwinn World sport to a Gary Fisher Mountain bike with knobbies to the mountain bike with slicks to a Trek 1000 to a Trek 5200 Project One. I still have my Gary Fisher and Trek 1000 (now my commuter bike). I have to agree with you that the 1000 is a great bike for the money. You can get one on ebay for a couple of hundred dollars. Well worth it. While I wouldn't trade my 5200 with the Fuji floral paint job, I still get a great ride to work on my 1000.

Keep on riding!