Hello all,
This is my first post on this forum, from just looking through I have already learned a lot.

Little background info: I am moving to the heart of downtown starting in August for school. I realized that everything I will ever need to get to is less than 5 miles away and I have an 96' ford explorer that is terrible on gas-so why not bike my way around. I really want to get a road bike as I plan to ride not only to commute but for recreation as well. I've gone to a few LBS and looked around online quite a bit.

I really only have about $800 tops to drop on a new bike, I went to a specialized dealer and everything there was out of my price range, I went to a trek dealer and not only were these people much nicer and willing to work with me but they actually had (from the reviews i have read) a good bike that is in my price range, the trek 1.1. Again im sure this is not the greatest road bike, but compared to the 15 year old walmart 'mountain' bikes i have road im sure it will feel like a Mercedes-Benz. I did not get a chance to try it out yet as I had to go to work and just stopped in before but if I like the feel I may bite the bullet and go with it.

my question is this: will i notice a major difference in getting around(>5miles) when compared to the old bikes ive ridden? How much will I have to spend in accessories aprox.? How do you all feel about the trek 1.1 for a beginner just looking to get to and fro work and school?

sorry about the length. thanks for reading! any imput would be greatly appreciated.