Craig here. Thanks for reading! Yup, I was alone. I think a cyclocross bike with slick tires would be the best choice, assuming you want to do 100+ mile days.

Craig here. Thanks for reading! Yup, I was alone. I think a cyclocross bike with slick tires would be the best choice, assuming you want to do 100+ mile days. The 28mm tires were fine–the issue was fork clearance when they started to pick up dirt on the wet sections. If you wanted to ride on the dirt (mud) roads here you'd want at least 35mm.