Ha Ha! No, not advocating the LHT for you! I used the term "infamous" just because we've heard so much about it here on BF. Actually, I remember when your brother bought it for you, I thought y'all had made a decent choice. Any bike that gets someone into cycling and on the path or road is good, right? If you go off into the wild, you might consider a sturdy set of wheels, but I would even wait on that unless the "tour" becomes more than theoretical.