Nice bike and especially for the price, its a great start to touring that leaves some money for purchasing panniers and other camping gear.
The handlebar stem setup is interesting using a threaded headset and the easily adjustable slide up or down actual bar stem section.
Your gearing change certainly gives you a good set of lows, and the stock 48/36/26 is a good crank to begin with (the elite seems to come with a 50 39/30 oddly enough)
Enjoy