I need to take some tools in to work tomorrow. This evening I put them all in a backpack, and was surprised at how much it weighed - 80 pounds on my kitchen scale! Now I'm debating whether I should ride tomorrow at all.

The tools are in a frame pack, strapped down with compression straps, so the load shifting won't be an issue, and 80 pounds is a smaller fraction of my body weight (I'm 6'5", 245 lbs.). It's still a lot of weight. Should I expect any odd handling or problems? I'm planning on taking my hardtail mountain bike, and its disc brakes should mitigate any stopping distance problems. What about handling, though? Have any of you ever carried that much weight?

My ride is 8 miles each way, somewhat downhill at the start (I drop perhaps 300 feet in the first mile and a half), then flat except for a short but steep climb onto the UNM campus. Five miles or so are on MUP or on campus, so only 3 miles or thereabouts shared with cars.

Am I crazy? Am I letting my love of riding cloud my judgement? Should I punt and drive my car tomorrow, and try to sneak in a weekend ride to make up for the loss of a day of commuting?