I just got back into biking for part of my commute. I like it and would like to do more road & paved trail biking in the future.

In my signature, you can see that I have hybrid, a folder, and city commuters already. I'm looking to get something more efficient for road use. I'm pretty sure I don't want a dedicated road/racing type bike with the tiny tires and 120 psi, as I will probably end up on a gravel trail from time to time. But something narrower than that on my Searcher, which has 35s. I think the Simple City has 28s. Maybe 28s would be OK?

I'm thinking it is time to go to drop bars too, to help stay out of the wind a bit more.

A fellow bikeforumer, Mike, I rode with this past weekend recommended a Surly Crosscheck. It looks good to me, but it looks the same as the Long Haul Trucker to my uneducated eye. I know these aren't what some would consider road bikes, but they're road bikes compared to what's in my garage! Mike suggested a bike like this compared to my Searcher would probably raise my average speed by at least 3 mph, and would make it easier to handle hills & headwinds.

I'm looking to spend $500-1000, maybe just a bit more if I have to. I want to stay comfortable on longer rides, which to me means 30+ miles. My aforementioned bikeforumer buddy Mike, recommended steel as being more comfortable than aluminum, and I don't think I can afford titanium or carbon.

What models do you guys recommend I consider? The Fishers & Treks all seem to be aluminum or something even more exotic these days.