Thanks for the response.
Well, it's not really rushing any more than I would be otherwise...because of the limited time frame, I'm not camping (making it much easier to cover 90-100 miles a day). Which meant I lost a lot of flexibility. All the stops are already planned, and skipping the concert would just mean riding all the way back (still needing to make it a certain distance each day) instead of taking the train. I wouldn't say I'm leaning either way on this one...a shorter tour would be less satisfying, true, but REM and Modest Mouse at the Greek Theatre (an outdoor venue with views of the bay)...tough to pass up...
As for the crankset, I was in LBS one day, noticed that they had a triple crankset on sale and asked them what it would take to install it. They told me that I couldn't just swap it out - because of the way the bike was set up, I'd need a new bottom bracket, a new rear derailleur, and a new chain (and perhaps something else). Like I said, I'm an utterly incompetent bike mechanic, so I had no inclination to disbelieve them (and there's no way in heck that I'd install it myself. That = recipe for frustration and eventually, disaster).