Nola Gal, you have a golden opportunity to appreciate the slower pace of life here in C & V. As my friends here have said so eloquently, an upgraded bike may make you faster, but perhaps not...
You will find that people here are interested in your bike, not about how fast you are, or how much you spent. We even like knowing more about YOU (although we still want to know about the bike first
).
If we get you well and truly hooked, you may look at this thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=227038
and gasp in appreciation of how beautiful some of these bikes are.
Or, you may read this thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=355403
(Sianelle put it up as a sticky, but I like to think that she saw my suggestion and thought it was a good idea
)
and agree with Pastor Bob that a good bike should never be sent to such a horrible fate, but like a good cat or dog rescued from a shelter, returned to live a good and fulfilling life amongst people who appreciate it.
Or, perhaps you can just enjoy riding, and contributing to this ongoing thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=116588
Because what we all have in common here, is a love of bikes.
East Hill