thanks for the replies everyone. I will not be abole to spend any money on my bike til summer when I can work full time again. In the meantime, I am trying to adapt to my new gearing realities. On the positive side, the bike kinda encourages slow and thoughtful riding vs the high intensity of the cyclocross. So, I am just letting myself slow down and ride in a lower gear than I normally would rather than mash a way too high gear. It is a different way of biking, that is for sure.