Okay, ladies, I went for my first ride with front and rear panniers today. Rode a little over 20 miles. Carried my tent, sleeping bag, mattress, camp pillow, plus a bunch of other stuff, just for weight. I carried some shoes, tools, whatever was close at hand. The bike is heavy. It's difficult to get it up the two steps to get back into the house. But I can ride it. It rolls pretty well on the flats. The hills are tougher, to say the least, but so far, so good. My main concern was how it would handle /steer with weight on the front. I have to say it feels more stable than it did with just the rear bags. I was able to corner comfortably, slowly, but that's ok. I was more afraid of the downhills than the ups, but the brakes did their job. So it's seeming more and more like this is going to be a go! I do my first actual overnight trip (just one overnight) next weekend, the 19th. I'll let you know how it goes..........

annie