From CA, check out the option of riding Amtrak. Bikes are much cheaper on Amtrak than on airlines. I have taken an uncoupled bike on three round trip tours and one one-way tour on Amtrak. But Amtrak can be much slower and on routes that only run once a day you might find the train goes through the station at 3am, so it is not always a convenient option. I arrived at 1:15am, 3:30am and at 4:30 am on some of my Amtrak bike travels. But on Amtrak when using the bike box (buy the box from Amtrak at the station), the wheels stay on the bike, it is reasonably quick to pack and unpack because the bike remains largely assembled.

I did a group tour with Adventure Cycling. Of the 16 riders, three had Bike Friday folding bikes and one had a S&S coupled Co-Motion. Thus, one out of four. (I rode an uncoupled bike on that trip, rode Amtrak.)

My expedition bike is a Thorn Nomad with S&S. The S&S couplers as an option on that frame cost roughly $550 more. And I paid about $225 for the S&S Backpack case. Throw in a few extras and you are close to $800 for extra costs.

I saved $300 round trip in airline fees on my last tour by being able to use a S&S coupled bike. I also could take a taxi (and it was a Prius) to the airport, most taxis in my area can't carry a bike box. So that make getting to the airport and home again later much easier, I did not need to impose on a friend with a truck or minivan to take me both ways.

I budget 2 to 3 hours to disassemble the bike for packing, but that will likely go down with practice. And about 1.5 hours to reassemble after arrival. My frame (59 cm) is a tight fit. It is big enough that I have to remove both crank arms to pack it, remove the fork from the frame, etc. Even the water bottle cages have to come off. And my rear rack (Tubus Logo) does not fit in the same case as the bike, my second checked bag has to carry that rack. So, my second checked bag had to be of a size and shape that would hold the rack, along with my camping gear.

I built up my bike from the frame, laced and trued my own wheels, etc. So packing and reassembly is not a problem for me, just time consuming. I did have to tweak a few spokes after reassembly, the wheels were no longer perfectly true. I suspect that other stuff was packed on top of my case at the airport, thus the wheel truing.

First photo is the stuff that went to the airport, two checked bags, one carry one (yellow duffel), one "personal item" (handlebar bag) and my helmet (wore onto the plane). Second photo was when I had most of my stuff packed into the case, but not quite all packed yet.

Someone had a good thread on his new Surly S&S bike a few months ago on this forum, look for it.

You will also have to find a place to store your case while you are touring.