I did on the Southern Tier and it worked out quite well. My setup was a bit unusual though. It was an old 7 speed with a 12-28 cluster and a 39/26 on the crank. The crank was an "ultra compact double" made by leaving the big ring off of a triple. It worked out to a range of 25 to 88 gear inches and I was very happy with the setup. I should probably mention that I was self supported, camping and cooking, but packed very light. I was carrying less weight than a lot of folks who are credit card touring, so a 25 " gear was plenty low enough.