One of the issues to deal with, and a reason to get some winter mileage on, is to get the kinks out of your touring setup. I would try to look for some weekend days where you can fully load your bike and get out for a few hours here and there loaded. Break a bolt or a pannier connector or learn your headlight battery doesn't recharge properly at home. That may not be practical in the winter but to whatever degree you can, get your equipment field tested before you go. You don't want to realize your headset is loose on tour and you're not sure how to adjust it. I'm facing the same issues as I try to plan a tour with a new bike in the middle of winter. I won't be able to fully load and test my bike on our locally icy roads so I'm going to give myself four or five days of some local riding at my destination before I actually head out. I once went on a tour with my wife during the summer in the lower 48 and she heard me cursing as we began to setup camp the first night. Turns out that in spite of our checklist of necessary gear, which we went over and over, we had not brought a flashlight. Who the duck uses a flashlight in summer?? It doesn't get dark ! oh...but in the deep south (Washington state) it DOES get dark at night. We spent hours sitting around in pitch black before we could get to sleep. Woke up, broke tent and ... had to wait for light.