Steel bikes are NOT heavier than aluminum bikes, since the tubes on aluminum bikes have to be fatter to get the frame strength the same. My Bianchi Eros Donna (steel) weighs about 21-22 pounds. My Specialized Sirrus (aluminum) weighed about 21-22 pounds. I LOVE the Eros Donna, by the way.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks