Grant Peterson has long advocated that a bike should be a go anywhere, do anything, fun beastie to ride. He, via his bikes at Rivendell, is arguably responsible for the rebirth of wider tires and the "discovery" that wider tires don't slow you down and may be faster in real world conditions on asphalt and dirt and gravel.
I ride and love Rivendell's Hunqapillar and it is brilliant for roads paved (I attempted several paved tours before determining it was a lost cause with my easily over stimulated brain), dirt, utterly unimproved, and single track. I load it up for camping or ride it light(ish).
I rode my A. Homer Hilsen in Dirty Kanza two years ago. It was fantastic - an incredibly versatile bike. Might have been the only lugged bike out there, and almost certainly the only one with side pull road brakes.
Noah, how did the sidepulls work for you on the Dirty Kanza? Did you ever feel a little nervous on some of the long fast downhills? I ask because I am considering riding a bike with sidepulls on that same race next year and I was just wondering if the brakes were up to the job.
