Bikes

Just a few days ago the search for a well-fitting road/tour bike ended, to my great relief. I had found a pristine Cannondale R400 Triple for only $500 on craigslist. The woman selling it had used it recently in a triathalon. There was no mount on the front for a pannier rack, but I was reassured by three sources that there were solutions to this minor problem. I had also read a few rave reviews of the R400 from habitual tourers. As it has probably already become obvious to those of you sensitive to the use of the past perfect tense, the bike is actually unsuitable for my purposes. The only way to get panniers on this bike is to drill holes for the racks, which cannot be done with carbon! I admit to feeling rather silly for not exposing this detail before exchanging money. Luckily the seller will take it back, since I hardly rode it 10k.
Now I've decided to overhaul my dear old Apollo '76, since it is the most reliable bicycle I've encountered, it's made of ever-coveted steel and it fits me perfectly (paramount for a long tour). This will save me hundreds of dollars. Time to get cracking (chains)!