I own a Raleigh M20 which I bought back a few years ago when I was in
college for neighborhood riding. Now I've gotten into riding on paved
trails and the mountain bike just doesn't cut it; it feels heavy and
slow. I'd really like to buy a road bike but they're all really
expensive. Anyone have any recommendations for cheaper road bikes?
The cheapest (new) one I've seen is the 2003 Motobecane Mirage listed
on bikesdirect.com for $325. Anyone know anything about this one?
Otherwise, can anyone recommend any resources for buying an
inexpensive, preferably new, road bike?

Fit is *the* key issue on a road bike, especially so on your first one.
Your best bet is to save up a bit more money and find a local dealer who's
known to be really good at matching up the rider to the bike, because the
right bike is going to be one that's going to beg you to ride it, one that
can't stand sitting in the garage, one that makes you feel guilty because
you'd rather be out riding your bike than doing just about anything else.

Conversely, a bike that doesn't quite fit right, or has something that's not
running the way it ought to, is likely to spend its time gathering dust and
become one of those "Well, tried the road bike thing, glad I didn't spend
even more money on it" deals.

Entry-level road bikes at shops have improved in quality and come down quite
a bit in price lately; the '04 TREK 1000, for example, runs about $520. And
aside from fit, a good local dealer is going to maintain a sense of
ownership about the bike, so that if something isn't the way it ought to be,
they're going to do what they can to take care of it.

The most expensive bike you can buy is the one that doesn't get ridden much.
The best "deal" on a bike... well, I've laid out that stuff above!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com