Was at my LBS for other things, and told them about the mixte ss I wanna do. (but really shouldn't. I'm having such mixed feelings right now! I don't ride my own bikes enough as it is!)

LBS said Takara is a pretty good older brand, and would be comparible in quality to the Raliegh.

Some tall chickie (hmmm.... Teigyr?) needs to go get that orange mixte. So far I'm the only one who's called about it, so chances are good that if you call him now and tell him you're interested, you'll be in luck. He's in North Everett. Not far.

It has stem shifters ("crotch killers") but you could do some clamp-magic and move the shifters to the down tube or switch for bar-ends.