Just came back from a 6-weeks trip in France and Basque Country with my boyfriend, nice to see all these answers!
I really feel that now is the right time, because I'm 34, I don't have too much responsabilities at work yet, and no children yet, but all that might change quite soon!
I do have some experience in travelling, both with my boyfriend and alone. If I count all the trips I've done over 2 weeks, I think in total I've travelled by bike for about 10 months. Last night me and my boyfriend sat in front of a map of Europe and we talked about my itinerary. So far it stands like this: I would leave from home in the beginning of April and go towards Spain. He would then meet me at the border and we'd go to Santiago together. Then he would go back to Paris and I would keep going on my own, back to south of France and the Alps, towards Greece. (either going down Italy or going down Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro). Then we would meet again in July in Bulgaria and come back towards Germany together. And to finish I would go around Denmark, Norway and UK on my own, and back at home in october or something like that.
Now I just need to officially ask for my leave, then I will have a fixed date to go!
As for the bike, though I love the recumbent, I would probably go with the usual tourer. Mostly because it's easier to fix in case of problem and also more discrete!