touring bike advice

nateborn

Hello everybody, I'm a college student who's looking to get into some light loaded touring this summer. Nothing too serious, just weekend trips and maybe a week-long trip or two. Additionally, I like to do training rides during the week, so I'm looking for a versatile bike that will be fast during the week when I want to ride fast, and be able to carry a load on the weekends. I've found info on these forums on the Bianchi Volpe, Trek 520, Fuji Touring, Cannondale t800, etc, but my understanding is that these are more dedicated tourers, and might not work out so well for me during the week. At my LBS, I've found a good deal on an 07 Redline conquest for 800, but I cannot find much information on how this bike would work for touring. Does anybody out there own one/use it for touring? I've heard it's a bit of a harsh ride, but I'll judge for myself when I test it out tomorrow. Any advice would be extremely helpful