When I bought my road bike several years ago I was initially quite disappointed with it.  I eventually traced the source of my dissatisfaction to the mediocre low-end stock wheels.  They _{looked fine but I could feel them flex and give under hard acceleration and brisk cornering.}

After a while I replaced them- almost on a whim- with far superior hardware that had stiffer rims and much better bearings.  What a difference!  The change in the ride quality, and therefore my enjoyment of the bike- was beyond night and day.

Perhaps some similar change- not necessarily wheels, but something fundamental yet subtle- would bring about a similar change for you.

Hi Kelly,

It cost me many severe pangs of conscience, but I replaced an e-bike that was only about 2-years old with a new (and more expensive) one. I didn't enjoy riding it and I figured I'm too old to spend my remaining cycling days on a bike that leaves me dissatisfied. For a while I felt guilty about my extravagence, but I have gotten over that and love the new bike, no regrets. I bought it 15 months ago and have almost 9,000 km on it. It's paid for, even in miles! I kept the previous bike as a backup but don't really enjoy even a short ride on it to the market.

So my motto is we have no time to waste riding bikes that don't bring us joy. Life is too short.

When I’ve been wanting an upgrade from a bike I was growing tired of I found it worked well to ‘forget’ to lock it up in a safe spot, or ‘forget’ it was on the roof of the car when I drove it into the garage.  Both were effective.

For me a bike I didnt enjoy much usually sat unused for years or in some cases decades.  there were a few.  Some wound up with friends, a couple went to a coop.  Sometimes I got a few bucks for them, but usually they wound up being a gift or donation.

Well, that's an interesting question, and in my case it's not a simple answer.  The 2 bikes that I ride most of the time these days are both touring bikes, but they are different and have totally different "feels" to them. The bike I ride on tour is a 2015 Surly Long Haul Disc Trucker frame with entirely custom components.  It's a traditional geometry, and it's a big heavy beast that could easily carry a couple of hundred pounds plus me.  It's not exactly "springy" or "snappy" or any such adjective that one might use to describe a lively road bike.  But it's a very solid and stable platform made for moving along at slow to moderate speed and hauling a substantial load.  The newer Surly frames use today's compact geometry, so no comparison could be made between them and mine.

The other bike I ride is a Fuji Tour that I bought in Germany.  It's also a touring bike with attachments for 3 water bottles, racks, and fenders.  But it's a compact geometry frame and was constructed of somewhat lighter gauge steel, so it has a much "livelier" feel to it.  I think it would make a decent randonneuring bike if I was into that sort of thing.  I used it for commuting and weekend day-touring in Germany, and it was great for that.  Now I use it as my daily rider and training bike - when I'm preparing for a tour I train on this bike and save the wear-and-tear on my other bike that I will ride on the tour.   I ride it about 5 days/week, and prior to a tour I will slowly build up my Saturday long ride to be ready for touring. 

So now, all that background had a purpose related to your question.  When I have been riding the lively-feeling Fuji for months, the Surly feels clumsy and slow when I get back on it.  But within a week of touring on it, I appreciate the solid stable platform for carrying a load and "re-adjust" myself to it's comfortable (but slow) ride.   I wouldn't enjoy it if I were just riding it empty on a daily basis as a trainer, because I know it is heavy and awkward for that use.  But riding it loaded is where it shines for me - that's what it was built for.  You said you had only ridden your new bike 4 times for about 100 miles, and in the picture it appears that you are lightly loaded.  Maybe - just maybe - it might feel better to you if you were riding it fully loaded.  And maybe it doesn't have to have a perfect feel if it's adequately comfortable for you since the shorter frame will ship easier and be easier to bring inside at night on your European tour - and perhaps that is worth the tradeoff for a "non-singing" bike.  Only you can say for sure. 

You mentioned that you bought this bike for a good price, so here's something else to consider.   I don't know what the market is like in Spain and Portugal, but in Germany I know it's pretty easy to sell a used bike - lots of people ride bikes.  If you think this bike would at least be adequate for your tour, you could ship it over, ride it on tour, then sell it at your destination.  Perhaps a local bike shop would sell it for you on commission.  You would then save the cost of shipping it back and any insurance.  

Maybe what you need is a fresh deck of Bicycle playing cards, and two spring clothes pins.

Assembling those on the rear triangle might restore some of the fun riding that bike (or at least make you smile while you ride...or people on the street look at you weird).

You never know...