After calling around and getting three more "oh you should buy a new bike" responses (what the %$#@&*?? - anyway...) I talked to some very nice folks at Cyclepath in south Calgary. They were very encouraging about being able to find parts and so on, so I brought the BRC road bike in today to have them look it over and help me sort out the priorities. I was really pleased with the service! They did ask if I was thinking about a new bike at any point in the next few years, but I was OK with that since it was more so they knew what to suggest for the level of investment I was looking at.

I have a service appointment on August 2nd, when they will install bar-end shifters to replace the current downtube positioning. They didn't even peep about keeping the friction mode! They'll also move the brake levers up and back a tad to make it easier for me to reach them when riding on the hoods (I would do that myself but there's no sense unwrapping the handlebar tape twice!).

They helped me sort out the shifters for now, and I took the bike out for its first longer spin (not that long, but I think I got a good 4 or 5 miles in anyway). Wow, is it ever different from my other bikes! I am so not used to road bike handling. It's zippy all right!