Hey! I ride a green Linus mixte 8 speed for daily commuting too. Hello from the west coast!!

I agree with you about the gearing and the "slow feel." I've been debating getting a new bike with more gears to deal with my daily hills. Currently, I walk up the big one on the way home. It's ugly.

Funny that you pointed out the attention factor. This bime dosen't get much attention here. But I borrowed my frien's Rivendell Betty Foy and all I got was comments, stares and compliments all day with that ride - one guy even ran across the street to talk to me.