I need any and all of the advice that you folks are willing to give!

I've been riding hard-core on conventional road bikes for about 36 years now and my hands & feet are finally giving out.

I've been looking seriously (on the web, reviews, travel stories etc.) at an H-P Velotechnic GTE for daily riding and long distance touring. I'll be retiring in a couple of years and would like to do some really long trips by bike without having to deal with hand and foot issues constantly and a 'bent seems like the only realistic way to go.

My trips would be mostly in mountainous areas and, of course, the flat lands in between. I'm wondering how long the changeover would take - training new muscles, reactions etc. and a million other things too.

All help, info and opinions will be sincerely appreciated, so thank you very much in advance.

John