Originally Posted by
gugie
Man, great story.
Front lowriders and handlbar bag, that's the way I'd go. Once you put rear panniers on the back, pretty soon the bike balloons up to 60-70 lbs. Don't add weight to the back and you'll find that you can stand and pedal up hills without much loss of control.
It might not be a bad idea to post your location here whenever you can by public library.
I agree with your approach to luggage. Good suggestion about posting location updates--I'll try to follow up on it.
By the way, I am doing the right thing by the Miyata--it is a touring bike, after all, and has probably been champing at the bit for decades, although I've only had it for a few years. Also going with Bikeflights--at least it will deny the ham-fisted employees of the TSA their opportunity to do any damage.