CL prices have gotten insane here in Denver too....

It doesn't help that "bike flipping" has become a cottage industry and is oversaturated w/ people trying to make a buck. Ask your local thrift store manager if you can have dibs on a good bike. Make friends w/ the people on the floor who roll out the bikes.
A lot of Doof's try to beat everyone else out at the thrift store and/or feel that what they have is a "classic race bike" or they are just being *sshole opportunists, hoping to attract an unsuspecting buyer and scam them.

There are good flippers out there, I hope that I am one of them. I can promise you that if you hit 2-3 Goodwill/Salvation Army/ARC thrift stores consistently at the right time every day for 1-2 weeks, you will find a very fine road bike for less than $120..... Unless you HAVE to have the latest technology w/ carbon fiber, in which case you should look for someone at the beginning of next season who just "upgraded".