I actually went in a completely different direction. I was pretty well set on the idea of getting the Trek 520 and went to give it one last little test drive, go grab some lunch, and head back to buy the bike. Well, the place where I bought my lunch was in the same shopping mall as an REI and I kind of had a "duh" moment. It is one store that I did not even look at.

Well, I tried out the Randonee and was in love. I think I rode it around the parking lot for a solid 30 minutes and still didn't want to get off the bike. It just felt good...like warm blanket on a cold night kind of good. And although the Trek was a great bike and did fit well, I just didn't "settle" into the 520 like I did the with the Randonee.

The cool part is they actually had one of last years models in my size on sale for $799 which puts me under budget and leaves money left over for panniers and to do a few minor upgrades to the Bridgestone. The 2009 model also comes with a beefier rack and a few other components that are a little nicer than the 2010 models.