I'm planning on more hotel/hostel/warm showers than camping but want to be ready for camping in some of the more beautiful places, and to have the option if I feel like stopping sooner than planned. I'm determined to fit all I need in larger front panniers used on the rear, a rear rack bag, and the one bag in the front.
I'm a 63 yr-old retired woman, and an avid cyclist with many cycling vacations but no big tours under my belt. I'll be taking shorter tours from around home in preparation for the bigger tour. I have plenty of time and I'm in no rush to race through the Trans Am. I'll be riding East-West starting from Washington DC on the Eastern Express in early to mid May.
being the internet, you're going to get all kinds of opinions here.
most of the folks here have substantial touring experience, but it will be hard for you to know what is malarky and what isn't.
my wife and I are of similar age to you, and I've toured since the late 80s.
I'll try to keep this short------
bike gearing low enough that is realistic and enjoyable for riding a bike with 30lbs of stuff on it--the Sirrus gearing is too high--it will be murder on long hills
The Sirrus isn't really made for touring, so the wheels and spoke count arent made for weight--there's a very good chance you'll break spokes and totally mess up your day and trip.
you. could be a 63yr old Olympic athlete type, or a super slow occasional rider, but most likely you are in the middle, like most of us here--and the lowest gear on the Sirrus with the 48/32 and 11-32 cassette is 27 gear inches.
what are gear inches? who cares, lets call them jubejubes, its just a number that goes with a calculation of each gear on your bike, as tourers, we want to know what is the lowest gears for slogging up hills with lots of crap on our bike and we are tired and hungry.
27 g.i is not low enough for any semblance of enjoying yourself touring.
I learned this back in the early 90s when my touring bike had a 25 g.i. low and my first fully loaded (over loaded) trip in hilly terrain wasn't much fun. My friendly local bike shop showed me some charts explaining gearing and how to change my small chainring to a smaller one to get a lower low gear, and presto, for my next trip I had about 21 gear inches. Not only did I reduce the amount of crap I took on next trip, but I also then had the rough equivalent of one lower gear, so it was doable.
Having an idea to do a Trans Am is great, but just get the right tool for the job, and you will want a bike with low gearing and is made for carrying stuff that won't have problems.
I mentioned 30lbs of stuff, and that's a very realistic amount of weight for bike touring, especially if you have never bike toured before and carried your own stuff.
Going minimalist is great, but frankly, at close to the same age as you, I have no interest in going totally minimalist, I aint 25 anymore , but then maybe you are a tough cookie who can live. with very little.
Really, the only way for you to start getting an idea of what you need for a two month long trip, is to start putting stuff together into panniers, and getting yourself out there on a loaded bike for some weekend trips and adjust accordingly.
I hope you can achieve your dream.
Its doable, just plan realistically.