Or go nuts, put on a 48\36\26 change 26 to 24 or egads even a 22, and use gevenalle 10 spd triple shifters, road or dynasys, and use a tighter cassette and it's fun fun fun til your daddy takes the T-Bird away (song reference, look it up or ask your grandma)
This is actually hilarious to me, because you basically nailed my setup. My touring bike came stock with 44/32/22 up front and 11-32t x 10 speed cassette, with bar-end shifters. I eventually got tired of hitting escape velocity, so I switched it to a 48/34/22 up front and kept the 11-32 in the rear. I think next time I replace the cassette I might narrow it to 11-28t, because I don't like the jump from the 12-14 cog.