How did you get into touring?
Did you head off on your own or with a group or with an experienced friend? Did you do a lot of research first? Did you already have a lot of experience with camping and cycling (as separate endeavours)? Did you head out on short tours first and then ease your way into more epic adventures?
I'm dying to give it a try, but I'm new to cycling (aside from zipping around the neighbourhood as a kid, my only experience has been commuting 12 km each way to work for the past 2 months), I'm not an experienced camper (don't own any camping equipment), and I don't know anyone that could be my mentor with whom I could tag along with.
Not to mention it's fall - is that a bad time to start? Do I need to train to be able to ride reasonably long distances each day? Aside from a bike with rack and panniers (I have those for commuting) do I need to invest in a lot of "stuff" (assuming I'm not going to stay in hotels or B&B's)? I'm in a holding pattern and it's a bummer!