Originally Posted by
mindbiking
Just a thought: why not go without the handlebar bag--and, while you are at it, go only with the rear panniers. Less money, fewer bags, and, based on own experience, works quite well. Believe me, you won't miss them. For more info see mindbiking.com
+1 - Run with only two rear panniers myself. Thanks for the website link. It's great. How did you make your maps? I've done five long distance tours and a lot of shorter tours. Only recently started using TravellersPoint to map my Portland2Portland route this summer. Would like to go back and map my other 4 routes. Will be leaving for my 6th long distance tour in February.
Why so many flats in 2015? You suffered 6 in 7,926 miles but only 2 in your previous 3 trips, totaling 9,571 miles. It's good to see such a low statistic though. I've had 1 flat in my five long distance tours. A total distance of ~13,000 miles. That flat was caused after accidentally slamming my rear tire off a curb when a bike path suddenly ended without warning.
Going to go read your website some more.
Edit: The answer to my "why so many flats" question was in your Q&A.