Thank you everyone for your replies!

To respond to a few concerns that you all had. When I've biked in suburban/urban areas in the past, of course I use the front brake solely or in conjunction with the rear brake. But now I'm biking in a rural area with tar and chip roads. When I use my brakes with almost any force, they usually hop. And I don't know about you, but I would much rather have my back wheel hop than my front thus primarily back brake use. The traffic is very low; I only typically use my brakes when I've reach my destination, to slow my descent down a hill that has a rough patch at the bottom or for a bear (real story) or a cow (yes, also happened). Maybe I'm still missing the plot but I don't see where I need or should be primarily using my front brake in this situation.

Regarding shifting and cadence, yes I know what they are and their purpose. I've done a good bit of indoor cycling and am aware that 90-120 should be my goal; that it's more efficient, etc. But truthfully, I don't like downshifting for hills and if that means that my cadence drops to 60, 50, 40 or that I need to stand up, so be it. Is that really such a bad thing?
[MENTION=158317]sickz[/MENTION], thank you for your comment re painting. The frame is aluminum so it's good to know that I can just strip it with a chemical paint stripper then sandpaper it. Is Sheldon's page on painting enough to go by?