Thanks for the advice- sorry if I was a tad impatient- I'm not used to being new at a sport and I just had the thought that maybe I asked something dumb. Plus I was working on a paper last night and eager for a good reason to procrastinate.

After reading through this, I think the main change I might make is getting slightly wider tires- I've got 700x23's and was considering changing to 25's anyhow, to reduce the skittish feeling my bike has (it's pretty stiff). That and the fenders/different chain lube. (thanks singletrackmind for that, um, image that will forever be in my mind when I look at a bike chain )

-tt