michael, jonr--thank you both for the info.

jonr-i hear ya about the folly of carrying a weapon, as there are many ways that a weapon can be more of a detriment than an asset. weapons have no loyalty, and it struck me that my initial idea(mace) could wreck with me just b/c i may be shooting it into the wind on a bicycle...it could come right back into my face! =P

michaelw-i am pretty sure i wanna get the panneirs from www.inertiadesigns.com; the question is, who makes excellent pannier racks? i want something that attaches in several places; ive seen some that attach solely to the seatpost, and this seems less stable to me. i think the products marketed by oldmanmountain seem pretty good, but if anyone using panniers has a specific product they wanna recomend, i'd love to ehar about it!

i'll be sure to check out the fenders you recomended, as i do need a good front fender.

thanks again,
-rob