aluminum vs. steel

I'm now leaning more towards the LeMond Sarthe. I've heard enough people say to stay away from aluminum for long trips, and there aren't many steel frames around anymore, it seems. I'm not sure why I haven't been very interested in carbon; I guess I'm too old-school.

bikes

I am in the process of buying a bike. I am a mountain biker, and have never owned a road bike, so I'm starting from scratch. At REI I've been looking at the Cannondale Synapse.

It seems that if you talk to 5 different people about what bike to get, you will get 5 completely different opinions. One guy is saying the Synapse is the best bike for me, but the next guy (same store) says to stay away from aluminum and get a carbon or steel frame, for shock absorption. Some people say to get a touring bike, and stay away from the 'racing' bikes. I get all kinds of opinions.

I've heard that LeMond has good bikes. Maybe I'll try out the Sarthe.

I'll have to test ride a bunch of different bikes, and hope one stands out.

why

I remember starting a blog back when they were relatively new, and it went nowhere. Why am I starting again? Simply because I hope to use this to document my goal/dream of cycling across the US, from the West coast to the East. I've wanted to do it since High School, and it's starting to appear slightly achievable for the first time. So here goes...