Impatient for a bike

This might seem really lame but I have spent the last 4 months trying to rehabilitate 2 different bikes in a weird space race to see which one will be rideable first with the goal to maybe ride in the MN Ironman in the end of April.

pink 3-speed Hawthorne that I bought on a whim: Its attaction is the motorcyclesque gear shift (which, although super cool, is not that practical). Up until about 2 weeks ago, its main problem was the fact that I needed to take off the chain to replace the back inner tube. Now that I've finally got that problem fixed, thanks to a panicked call to my roommate's father, I can't seem to figure out how to hook up the internal hub gear system. To get the wheel off I simply unscrewed it. Now it refuses to screw on properly.

dark metallic blue 21-speed Bridgestone mountain bike that Dad bought for me in the early 1990's when I got sick of my Huffy "road" bike: In 2001 the back wheel was stolen. Solveig helped me purchase the new back wheel this Christmas. But I have resigned to the fact that my rear derailleur needs to be replaced. It is out of alignment and missing pieces. Plus my derailleur tubing is like paper mache

I think that what I would really want is a touring bike that is all put together now. Something that I can load up to commute or ride faster down the river roads.

Perhaps after I find out what will be happening to me in the next few years I can make these decisions.