Some suggestions for anyone wanting to do a cross country ride.

While we did extensive research into what to take along with us, you can never be sure that all measures will be covered. All in all I think we did a very good job at taking the right amount of gear. We met people along the way that seemed to have a lot more gear than we did. There were comments along the way telling us that we were packing very light. People were surprised that we were able to live out of essentially one bag. You would be surprised at what you can live without when your everyday life is turned into one big ride and eating binge. Everyday clothing is not that much of a concern when you are in one place for one day and moving on the next. No one will see you more than once. And who cares your on a mission anyway. I will say that it would have been nice to have another set of everyday clothes. Wearing the same clothes for sixty days does get old. I did get creative with bike clothes and street clothes. Carrying another set wouldn't have killed me. The choice is yours, don't get carried away.
As far as the gear goes. Find the best rain gear that you can. It makes a difference. I had REI rain pants, worked great. Columbia rain jacket, worked terribly. Your hands and feet are going to get wet. Not a big deal if the weather is warm. If it gets cold, it eventually wears on you. I suffered painful achilles tendon's. A condition, I believe, that came from endless riding in cold wet conditions. Keep them warm. While in Lockport, Jeff introduced me to a product called Halo. A headband for people, like me, who sweat. It works phenomenally. Thank you Jeff. It kept the sweat out of my eyes for the next 800 miles. I just wished I would have bought one in the beginning. Another product that was introduced to me in Illinois by Grant, was the puncture resistant tube by Forte. This tube is a pig. It is heavy and feels as if you could almost run it without air, it is so thick. That being said, it works awesome. Don't worry about the extra weight. Not having to change flats all of the time is worth it. When I needed to change my tire, because it was wearing out, I pulled out three pieces of glass embedded in the tire and didn't end up with a flat. Saved a lot of frustration. Thank you Grant.
I have a road/race bike. And because of that, I had to pull a trailer. I could not attach panniers to my bike. I wasn't about to go out and buy a new touring bike just for this trip. So you work with what you have. I used a BOB trailer and it worked great. It tracks well and rides smooth. I had it going over 50 mph at times and it never felt sketchy. It is recommended to not take it over 25 mph. Oh well. The only thing I would do different is a stronger rear wheel. My rear hub started making noise in SD. I bought a new wheel and started replacing spokes from Illinois all the way to Maine. About 20 spokes in all. There weren't a lot of wheels to choose from, so I took what I could get. It was a lower line shimano wheel. I figured it would get me to the end, and it did. Just with a lot of headaches. Get a strong rear wheel if you are pulling a trailer.
I brought enough tools to do virtually all repairs. You need this. Things will break and you will need to be able to fix them. This trip was hard on my bike, and it is going to get some TLC when I return home. It will need another chain, new cassette, new cables and housing, complete cleaning, new brakes, new handlebar tape, new tires. My front derailleur seems a little bent, hopefully I can fix it. And I am sure I will find some other things while I am cleaning it that will need replacing or fixing.
Tools are important, and know how far it is until the next bike shop. All bike shops are not created equally. You may not get the selection you are looking for in a bike shop out in the middle of nowhere.
Do the research, pack light, and buy it if you need it. And Enjoy, I did.