Any students? How to carry heavy books?
So, I'm getting my MA in English, which means my textbooks are mostly not as heavy as some people's, but I do have several of them. And my commute is 14 miles one way, in Portland, OR, so probably wet. I'm obviously going to lighten the load as much as possible. I'll still, however, have to carry a lot. What do you think is going to be the best way to do this? I'd rather not be lugging around panniers all day, but this might be more than my backpack can accomodate. I'm thinking a very roomy messenger bag might be the happy medium - do they come in particularly water-tight models?
By the way, are there any PSU students out there? Where is the safest place to lock up your bike on campus? I've got a pretty decent lock, I think, but I'm pretty paranoid since I just invested in a new bike (not ridiculously expensive bike, but it still cost a chunk of change from a student bankroll).