Since the last Post I grabbed some cheapo alu forks and cranks for 1by setup, and the bike is starting to feel great. I had a weekend trip with brother in law and realized I really wanted to add then some proper panniers and aero bars for more comfort over longer distances.
Oh, and replaced the old tiagra derailleur with a grx, works great with tiagra 4700 shifters

Photo from the trip

Now also considering throwing in some 27.5" gravel wheels with 40mm-ish tires and disc brake conversion, but not sure if I want to commit on that yet.