In the price range you are looking at, Specialized makes a very nice and comfortable road bike for long miles. This one is about $1900 retail but pretty sweet and with a triple.
Specialized Bicycle Components : Roubaix Triple
There's quite a few very decent road bikes out there in the $1500 to $1900 range available with triples. Nearly every manufacturer has bikes in "price groups" to be competitive.
Don't overlook nice used bikes. A used road bike is a bargain and some riders trade up every year or two, making their last year's perfectly good model a screamin' deal. A $1000 spent here picks up a bike that was $2500 or $3000 just a couple of years ago (and is still in excellent condition).
angela