That would make an excellent commuter! Google says its a 15lb CroMolly steel frame with a 3x7 gearing. I'd get the hubs and bottom bracket cleaned, and repacked, clean and lube the drive train and put on some 700x35 or 36 slicks for the street, and toe clips and see if that doesn't speed things up a bit. Then I'd see about rotating the handle bars forward and lowering them to get a little more aero position (rotating the brake levers and shifters the opposite way to maintain a comfortable grip.

I live in the Olympic training city of Colorado Springs and we have some serious cyclists running the streets. I'm never going to catch up with them, but that's okay, I'm too busy enjoying myself.