Anne,

It's not cut-and-dried, but all other things being equal drop bars are more versatile and better for all-day comfort. Hand fatigue becomes an issue on long rides; drop bars offer more hand positions. An all-day headwind can be a real downer on a tour; the aero position of drop bars can really help with that.

It's important to have the bike set up so the bar height is comfortable (they don't have to be 4" below the saddle height like you see in the catalogs; the tops of my bars are nearly at saddle height). And if you have small hands, you'll want to test the reach to the brake levers. Shimano makes some reach-adjustable brake/shift levers for road bikes, but they're not usually standard equipment (except on Shimano's Sora component group).

Unfortunately, it's a decision that can be expensive to reverse; changing a bike from drop to flat bars or vice-versa involves replacing the most expensive components (the levers).

Looking at the two Terry bikes, there are other differences besides the bars. The Classic has wider gearing and longer chainstays as well as the flat bars and fatter tires; it's generally going to be a little slower, a little more stable, a little easer to get up hills with a load. It's too bad they don't offer it with drop bars, because it would be a better touring bike IMO. It might be worth asking the shop how much they'd charge to do the upgrade.

RichC