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My advice is to look into a company called Trek. I have a Trek 1000 and I couldn't be happier. I have logged well over 2000 miles on this bike, was doing about 100 miles a week just for pleasure while I was in high school and have since moved on to college and have found myself where you found yourself in college, sitting on my butt doing nothing. I can't ride because I live in a very congested part of town where the roads are not so good for this kind of bike. However, just some details about it for you. The bike is made from aircraft grade aluminum and carbon fiber, has shimano brakes and shifters (I'm pretty sure) and has light weight wheels. The bike does not weigh very much at all and only cost me about $650. I also added clipless pedals and shoes which together ran me another $350 because I got really good quality shoes that would last me a long time ($250 for the shoes and worth every penny).
My recommendation, if you mostly want to ride for pleasure or commuting and don't have a lot to carry except maybe a back pack is the new Trek 1.2. It's the new version of basically the same thing I have. Take a look at it, it has a slightly hunched over riding position, but it's a great entry level bike for you to ride for pleasure and can also be pretty competitive. If you don't like the hunched over ride so much look at their FX series, it has a more upright riding position and lends itself to more leisure riding.
My biggest piece of advice though is to make sure you're properly fitted on the bike before you buy it. Do a little research and get an idea for what size fits your body type the best and go with that. This is especially important for the 1 series bikes more so then it is for the FX series because in the bent over riding position you can easily cause unnecessary back strain or even injury if you're not properly fitted.
Good luck, happy riding.
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