My first tour was a joke, but it was also one of the most wonderful weeks of my young life! I was a very poor college student. One reason for bike touring was because I didn't have a car. I had a 10-speed Raleigh. I sure could have used a granny gear for the hills, but I was young and pumped my way up. I had an old Brooks saddle that was awful. My butt would get sore at 25 miles and numb by 35.
My first tour was a 70-mile ride from Bellingham, Washington to Lake Alouette, British Columbia. I broke it into two legs heading out. I was going to take two days to ride home, but ended up having so much fun at the lake that I decided to ride the whole way home in one day. It doesn't seem like much now, but in those days 70 miles was the longest one-day ride I'd ever done. My butt hurt so bad when I got home!
I couldn't afford panniers so I bought some pack cloth at REI and sewed my own. I hung them on my $5.00 Pletscher rack I bought at Fred Meyer. I couldn't afford a frame pump so I bought an old floor pump at a second-hand store and tied that on. I tied my sleeping bag (which I got free for sitting through a sales presentation for a lot at a development in the woods, which I wouldn't be able to afford for another 30 years. The salesman knew it; I knew it; but we went through the motions and I got the bag) between the curves of my drop handlebars with string, which actually worked pretty well. I had a cheap single-wall tent and a blue foam sleeping pad. I didn't have bike shorts; I wore cutoff jeans. I ate things like tuna fish out of the can, beef jerky, bananas, etc.
Like I said, I had the time of my life, and it started a lifelong love of touring. Of course, now I have a 21-speed bike with a great granny gear, good front and rear panniers (and a matching handlebar bag), a super lightweight tent, a Big Agnes air mattress, a lightweight mummy bag, backpacking stove, mess kit, a comfortable saddle (I can ride over 100 miles with no soreness; no numbness), etc. All that stuff helps, and I ride in much more comfort. But I would recommend touring, no matter what the equipment (as long as it's strong enough to minimize mechanical difficulties.)