Hi,
there are a couple different flavors of bike you might also
want to consider. One is the lite tourer. That's what I have.
I have used it for everything from commuting to week long trips.
The Bianchi Volpe is an example. A new category that I think I will dub Comfort Road was created the Specialized Seqouia. It's a
nice bike, and worth a test ride. Bikes like this will let you go farther and actually be
more comfortable on days when you're spending hours in the saddle. If you are too upright it kills your butt after a couple hours.