Ramzilla - the bike turnaround here is crazy from what I've seen while shopping - that Lotus is long gone by now, and I bet someone paid his full asking price.
Timtak, I've only been able to put a few handfuls of miles on the bike with the busy holiday weekend and work being backed up. Fortunately the trails nearby are fantastic (where I plan on doing most of my riding). However, as I increase my mileage and ride time I'll finally have a baseline with this aluminum Allez to compare future bikes to in terms of comfort... especially as I wander into the city streets where the conditions are much worse surface-wise.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to learning more and "enjoying the ride" as I go along in this great sport/hobby - pun intended :-)