Also, I've noticed that if I have a day when I'm hanging around the same town (perhaps early for a train) I'll go ride around unloaded. At first I'm amazed at how easy it is and I feel liberated. But then after a while I settle down into the same level of effort that I'm used to all the time. So I don't ride around all day with a much bigger smile on my face. On an emotional level I feel about the same as always. This also contributes to my feeling that the weight does not matter much.