I ended up going to a couple of garage-sales this weekend and I found a beautifully-conditioned road bicycle and bought it for $5. With some minimal research I found out that this 'new' bike is actually pretty darn old! The lady that sold it to me said it was her brother's and used it indoors on some sort of elevated rack for exercise
.
(she tried to sell me the rack for an extra $5, but I declined).
Either way, the bike is virtually in
mint condition. The're not a scrape to be found on the paint, the gear selectors (although awkward compared to modern bikes) work marvelously, the sprockets are in tip-top shape, and heck: it even has the original tires! It's almost as if it was preserved against time just for me
.
After getting acquainted with the drop-handlebars (which I've never experienced in my life until now), this bike
cruises! Without much of a tailwind, I was doing 25+ mph in no time. I'm totally making this my daily-commuter now
.