If you are happy with the bike you have, except for the gearing, it seems like tinkering with its gearing is worth considering. Making the big ring bigger is sometimes a snap. With luck it will not require a new front Derailleur. You might be able to get a cassette with a few less teeth on the small cog. But maybe not.

Also, it won't help much, but you might consider putting bigger slicks on it. I put Schwalbe Big Apples on a bike that had previously had 1.25 slicks on it and the difference in effective gearing was noticeable.

jim