recommended COMFORTABLE touring bike?

Greetings -

I'm looking for recommendations for a bike that'll be used for a (not particularly taxing) daily commute, jaunts around town, and touring. No MTB, no off-road trails.

I currently have a 15-year-old hybrid Aquila, a boutique brand from Racer Sportif in Toronto. It was (and is) a fine bike (particularly in its day), but to make it comfortable for me, I had to replace the straight handlebars with drop-downs, and get a significantly longer stem.

Since suffering a ruptured disc (L5-S1) 1.5 years ago, and subsequent (successful) surgery, I can no longer cycle comfortably on my bike, and so am looking for a replacement.

The key factors are:
1) comfort (relaxed geometry, relatively upright ride)
2) weight (the sucker should be reasonably light)
3) rack/pannier friendly

Happily, I'm not unduly constrained by budget, but can't really justify spending more than $2K US, and then only if I can really feel it in the ride (comfort, handling, shifting). If I can find something suitable for half that, so much the better.

I rode a 54cm Specialized Tricross Sport the other day ($1K), which I found to be rather comfortable -- not crazy about the shifters, tho. (I've got the old-fashioned end-of-handlebar kind.) The shop didn't have a Tricross Comp available in my size to try. I also rode a Specialized Roubaix, which I did *not* find particularly comfortable -- it required me to be pitched forward more than was comfortable.

There's a good Surly shop (Harris Cyclery) 6 miles from home which I plan to check out today -- perhaps they have a Long Haul Trucker I can check out.

Any and all recommendations / suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

- Richard
[richard AT oldWithoutMoney DOT c o m]