Thanks for the nice offers to help me out with the Holdsworth! I live in the SW Chicago suburbs, so dropping by for some bike wrenching doesn't seem practical, unfortunately.
I went to look at a couple Treks in the snow this weekend, and they tried to aim me away from both road bikes and hybrids and toward the so-called gravel bikes, the Checkpoint specifically. Nice bikes, but pricey to my frugal self. I'm very tempted by the Giant Fastroad SL3, which is on sale for a really nice price right now. It seems like a nice frame for my purposes. They've cut corners on the wheels and running gear, but it's roughly half the price that similar bikes go for. That would leave some cash to spiff up the old bike. Dave