When I was looking around for a touring bike for my trans-Canada trip, I did discover that the OCR3 came in a touring version with lugs on for panniers and mudguards. However, the absence of steel forks made me decide against it, even though it was very pretty.

The OCR3 that I've had for four years has served me very well over long distances unladen, although I would agree that it doesn't like rough road surfaces and your hands will pay the price. The best solution that I came up with was to tilt the bars up a bit, almost cross fashion, and the geometry has suited me a lot better. It won't help for everyone, but it's a trick worth trying that a lot of people forget about.