Bicycle dreaming

I left my cruiser in New Orleans with a friend, thinking that the topography would make a 40-lb single speed bike that was always secretly a little too small for me ill-advised. And now it's been 5 months and I still don't have a bike - partially b/c why bother when I was subletting, it'd just be another object to move, and then I was recovering from an injury and then I was traveling and besides all that, my finances needed some time to recover from the move for buying a bike to feasible.

But now I am ready... and paralyzed. I have a dream bike w/ the following characteristics:

- 3 speeds (or at least, more than 1 and less than 10)
- internal hub
- coaster brake
- upright/Dutch/whatever you want to call it posture
- reasonably wide comfortable tyres
- step through (or at least mixte) frame
- tall enough for me!

Fenders and pre-installed basket/panniers would be a nice extra but I can add those, and I'm completely indifferent to colour (although those ghastly stylized flowers and butterflies and pastels a la Electra bikes would almost be a dealbreaker.)

And there is an absolute proliferation of bike stores in the East Bay that could match those specifications - for a new bike, in a limited range of brands, at north of $600. Which is not an unreasonable sum for a bicycle - in some circles that's pretty cheap - but my dear Schwinn was only $250, and perhaps kind of a lowbrow brand, but reliable and valiant and sturdy. And although I sincerely hope to never have my bike/parts of my bike stolen, it's a real possibility, and the emotional teeth gnashing will be bad enough without having to throw in fiscal rending of garments also.

So for the meantime I am haunting the used bike stores and craigslist (and p.s. keeping an eye on the SF area craigslist bike section could easily be a full time job) and wishing and hoping...