Hiflyer112

I am looking for a new touring bike to go cross country on as a high school student. I have been biking for a long time and have a bit of knowledge on what makes a good touring bike, but the problem is I can't find any in my size (or even at all) in less than 100 mile radius of my home (at least thats what the bike shops on trek and jamis websites told me on the search). I probably will ahve to order it blindly, and even though the trek 520 is a little more tradition, has anyone rode the new Aurora Elite. Right when I saw it I on line I fell in love with it, but is it worth the extra 200 dollars? It has STI shifters, which suits me more than bar end, even though they would be difficult to repair, and they have a whole lot of other things I like. The only modification on the Jamis would be a lower first chainring and a wider range cassesette, which my local bike shops said they would be willing to do. The Jamis is below and is much different touring wise than its carbon fork counterpart from last year.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebik...roraelite.html