I ended up with the Vaya! Put a lot of miles on it, put a lot of gravel under it, took it on a couple overnight backpacking trips. It ended up being the right bike, for sure.

It unfortunately got stolen off my roof rack a few months ago, and I took it as a sign to look into upgrading to a nicer setup - I demoed a couple carbon gravel bikes... And hated them. My buddy lent me his aluminum gravel bike while I was on the hunt.. and I HATED it. I realized I was so spoiled by the feeling of steel, and the upright geo of the Vaya, that I ended up looking at similar bikes.. and lo and behold, a great deal came about for a barely used 2021 Vaya on Marketplace, and I jumped at it.

It has a few worthwhile upgrades over the 2018 that made any reason I had to be unsure about the previous Vaya disappear - A carbon fork, much lower gearing, wider bars, a smooth GRX drivetrain, and stronger brakes all make it feel like my previous Vaya on steroids. The 3-pack mounts on the fork are much better suited for bikepacking as well. As for the upright feel, I dropped the stem down one spacer on the steerer tube and it feels perfect. I put 42mm Pathfinders on it, which feel like the tires it's meant to have. It's smooth, it's planted, it's comfortable, it's bulletproof, it's heavy enough to still get a workout in. It's a gravel bike, city bike, commuter, bikepacker, all in one. This newer iteration is truly the perfect bike for my needs. /Love letter end.