I finally decided to ditch the backpack for my commute, picked up a rack and panniers which I'll be installing tonight. Pics soon!

EDIT: wow, that was the easiest install ever. Rack lined up absolutely perfectly out of the box, and all the hardware was the ideal length as well. 10 minutes total including adjustment of pannier! Crappy cell phone pic:



Excited for its maiden voyage tomorrow morning. Sweaty back and achy shoulders, no more!

It's a Blackburn TRX-1 Ultimate Touring rack, which is awesome: narrower, lighter, and better mounting positions than anything else I found; and Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus pannier set. Starting to get into touring, and will eventually pick up a new rig with gears to move them over to for that use.