Reload

I had a flat the other evening going home, and Corinna thought I was silly to unload the bike to change it. But for eight miles, give or take, I'd been battling a 100% back 0% front weight distribution owing to the fact that I was carrying a half a case of paper in copies in addition to the usual TMS.

I could have laid it down on the panniers, but the way a half case of paper was strapped on there, I figured it would slide out of the straps and I'd have to redo it all anyway.

Then, about a week later, I was making a Wal-Mart run and realized that eight two-liters far outweighed the saddlebags and moved the panniers up before strapping down the bottles. Leads to a much more balanced ride.

I've had that front rack for five months now, and I'd only ever used it when I had four panniers on the bike for touring.