Many thanks to you all. This really gives me some things to consider since I know next to nothing about bikes aside from a single gear, pedal break cruiser.
I will be doing a 44 mile tour on Saturday with some really crazy elevations and wondering if I will need to get some more gears in the future.
I do like the idea of doing some upgrades here and there on what I have and doing more research in the meantime. I will also check out some of the LBS as well.