What's the actual gearing on the bikes? The road triple chainrings are probably 52-42-30; what's on the touring bike? The road cassette probably runs 12-25 or something like that; the tourer might go 11-32, for example.

Post the actual specs -- or go to www.harriscyclery.com and use Sheldon Brown's gear calculator -- and you can get a better idea of what the two bikes' relative gearing might do for you.

The tour organizer can tell you what severity of grades you'll likely encounter. That's the other important information.

Other considerations: which bike is more comfortable on long rides back to back to back? On flat terrain, giving up a few pounds in exchange for the comfort of a more compliant ride might be worth it. If you've done 60+ mile rides on both bikes you should already know the answer to this.

RichC