Sometimes I used to do my brother's Washington Evening Star route from an old Robin Hood three speed... it was a small route getting smaller, and a newspaper that kept getting thinner, until it went under in the early 70's.

Starting in '78 I had a Washington Post route, but there was no option of using a bike for that. Depending on the day of the week, my canvas shoulder bag weighed between 50 and 150 lbs, occasionally up to 200 lbs (and I was still under 150). Sunday paper was so big I had to deliver half of it on Saturday evening, and Sunday morning might still be a killer. The worst was one of the weekday mornings, though... maybe Thursday morning? The papers were dropped near a house that had a stone wall about two feet high around the front yard, so I'd put my bag on that, then stuff and fold the papers into it until it was full; overflow would be stacked carefully on top. Then I'd put the strap over my shoulder and drag it off the shelf, so all the weight gradually shifted to my shoulder. For the first couple blocks of my route, I walked very slowly.

Even then, people used to ask me why I didn't use a bicycle for my route...