I don;t have any tours planned for the near future that are likely to warrant a new bike purchase. I really don't expect to do anything before the fall at the soonest and that is likely to be less than two weeks long on one of my 30+ year old bikes (by choice).

My next month long or multi month trip, assuming I manage another one at my age, I had thought I might treat myself to a nice carbon fiber gravel bike with high end components. Then I looked at the spec for the various models... I have always been fond of Cannondale bikes so I tended to look there. Splurging for something $4k or more didn't seem out of the question, but looking at the specs for the alloy models that might be less than half that I have to wonder if they wouldn't be as good as or maybe even a better fit for the task at hand. Some of the Topstone alloy choices look like a pretty good fit for my needs and a budget price. It looks very versatile, but many of my needs seem to be in a sweet spot for it.