I'm a newbie road cyclist, but rode a commuter bike for 6 months prior to having my road bike, when living overseas. I purchased my road bike because after moving back, I wanted something with a lot of granny gears to get up the steep hills on my way to work. However, I need it to function as both a commuter bike and a touring bike. Has anyone done this with their bike?

Ideally, I should have 2 bikes, one for commuting, and one for touring, but the budget only allows for the single bike I have. I want to outfit my road bike with fenders and possibly a rear rack for panniers, but I want to have the versatility to take it on group rides as well. Is it going to be a total PITA to have to remove the rear rack/fenders every time I want to use it for non-commuting purposes? I don't intend to ride in races (at this point) but I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb in group rides with my fenders and rear rack.

Edited to add that I sold my commuter bike while I was overseas so I no longer have that bike

Any advice appreciated.