Picking a road bike, and general questions.

Well, I'm making the big move: leaving the nest to strike out on my own.
*shudder* This raises a few questions vis-a-vis transport. I'm moving to
Mitcham (currently in Glen Waverley), and currently working at Monash
Uni, Clayton.

Current bicycle is an eight year old Giant Prodigy. Still a very nice
bike, mind you; the only hassle is that I'm finding the hybrid style to
be a little uncomfortable in ways I can't fully quantify, compared with
the full road/racer style handlebars (in close to the headstem, curving
forward in a half circle at the end -- you know the sort of thing, even
if I don't know the correct term. :-)

A large bicycle store in Nunawading suggests the Giant OCR 2 as being a
reasonable compromise between price and performance. I was kinda hoping
to get away with a bike for a smidge under $1,000 (depending on budget,
which is, admittedly, still up in the air a bit, as I have higher
priorities... like repairing a few things around the place.) Would
anybody have suggestions on bikes that aren't super expensive, but are
reasonably comfortable to ride? (Accessories -- like clipless pedals,
lights, etc., I can justify as extra costs over and above the bike
itself; in any case, if I do end up having the budget for something a
bit better, so be it.)

Second question relates to routes. Anybody have any suggestions on good
roads/bike routes to take, heading south from Mitcham (call it about
halfway between Mitcham and Heatherdale stations, on Brunswick St) to
Monash Uni Clayton? What's (eg) Springvale Road like during peak-ish
hour (~7-8am, ~5-6pm) for cyclists? Blackburn Road would be ok in the
areas it's divided, but I'd be rather reluctant on the non-divided
parts, especially since it's only two lanes in both directions, which
doesn't leave me as much room as I'd like (I like to take up as much of
the left hand lane as I can get away with, but I'm reluctant to do this
in spots where it leaves car drivers with only one lane to pass me.)

Third question: is there a reasonable route for cyclists to take from
that area to get to the CBD? I don't need one right now, but it might be
useful to know down the road if/when I move jobs. Public transport is,
well, public transport.

Thanks for any and all suggestions,

Stuart. (Indentured servitude is less than three weeks away... right
slap bang in the middle of the GVBR, what's more.

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