Touring - advices for a newbie

hi, well i dont read this part of the forums very often but i have something to ask, well im planning a vacation with a budy over the sierra madre in chihuahua mexico, its going to be for some days and we will be traveling on mountain bike and mi question is simply if there's anything i need to know any special advices, what to carry like tools or stuff like that and everything that i can have in mind to make a better vacation with no troubles, i dont know if im going to be camping or staying at hotel, i guess both but anyway, any information is worth since its my first espedition on my bike. thanks

your question is pretty broad so it makes it tough to answer, probably why i'm the first to respond, but i'll give it a shot.
first if your ever going to be very far from a bike shop, then yes you should bring some basic tools atleast. also a pump, patch kit, spare tube and maybe a tire. and the list can go on from there depending on what your going to be doing. if your going to be camping you'll obviosly need some camping equiptment. again this can vary greatly depending on the kind of camping you plan to do. example will you be eating in resturants and camping, or cooking your own food.
best advice i can give is first figure out whre you'll be going and what you'll be doing, then start to plan from there. also read thru this forum and check out this web site
http://www.bicycletouring101.com/.
that will help you get some more specific questions together about your trip and plenty of folks here will be happy to try and answer :)
have a great time.

thanks for the tip, i wish other guys answer the same way... i dont like when nobody answers.

Before venturing off to Mexico, I would take a couple overnight or multiday trips from home so you get a feel for what to carry, how far you can travel in a day, etc. Work out the glitches and you'll be less likely to be missing something far from a source of supply.

great tip supcom, i shoulda said that :)