I Definately notice my muscles get tight even after a short stop so that's one reason to stop less. Camel pak is a good suggestion, lighter and smaller than my back pack. Temps are dropping here so I won't even need that much water but I still drink more than the average person. I've seen some good camel packs with pockets for my c02, phone, tube ect.

I used to stop every 10 miles no matter if I needed a rest or not so I'm getting better atleast. I just feel like I'm cheating when I take rest stops, not that it's a contest but still I'm cheating myself. I just wanted to get a feel for the average roadies style if you will. My boss always asks how many miles i did and when I tell him 50 he says "wow you'll have no problem doing our 35 miles group ride". 50 miles with 3 stops is a lot different than 30ish straight through. I think my legs and butt would be screaming.

Gonna start tapering down my rest stops and drinking/eating on the fly. It would be nice to be able to ride a decent ride without being gone all day. Rest stops really add up and it's kinda wasted time, plus I look awfully lazy to those passing by.