Thanks all for the kind comments. And the other ones an'all
What's the bike: Salsa Vaya?
Are those chainstays really as long as the top tube?
Are your front panniers actually rears which you've used up front? They look ginaggerous!
Cudzo, yep it's a Salsa Vaya. It has made previous appearances, in
Fully loaded - Touring Bikes for instance:
Bike is a Salsa Vaya, new this year. Basic Shimano kit mostly, apart from a gorgeous Middleburn jewellery-like chainset, 46-36-24. The 24 ring saw plenty of use, in conjunction with the 32 sprocket. Tubus racks, Altura panniers. Downtube shifters, which it took me all of 10 minutes to get used to again after 15 or so years of Ergo levers. 26" wheels, with BB7 cable discs and 1.5" Marathons. His name's New Walter.
...
Salsa Woodchipper bars - shallow drop, highly flared, extremely comfy. Cane Creek brake levers, cos they're the same shape as Campag ergos, and as a bonus you can get 'em with retrotastic gum-coloured hoods.
Comfortable, stable, lovely. And orange.
The chainstays
are long, but that's a bit of a hoptical delusion there. The 26" wheels probably exaggerate the effect.
And the front panniers really are front panniers, honest. The one you can see is particularly bulky cos it's the bedding bag: two sleeping bags, Synmat, inflatable pillow, towel,... If anything, it's the rears that are a bit too small, they're only 23l. Hence the tent, tripod and Helinox chair on top of the rear rack - I don't normally do that, but this trip was specifically aimed at comfort and photography and not much place-to-place riding so I put up with it for once.