+100 for KnottedYet & Bicyclista... those guys rock it!

The bike I ride most all the time when I need to go somewhere, or off on club or training rides is a Surly touring bike with rear and front cargo racks. I usually have a Columbus rack trunk back there, but will either swap it out or augment it with panniers on a regular basis. All my goodies and comfort stuff go back there, as well as any Good Samaritan-type accessories. On both the LHT and my carbon road bikes, I carry a small Janndd handlebar bag that holds a spare tube, CO2 cartridges & inflator, flat-fixing tools, a tube of Nuun tablets, the battery & cable for my headlight, and maybe a few other small things that need to be squeezed in.

Racks, trunks and panniers are way under-rated... One of the reasons I ride my steel tourer so much more than my road or MT bike is that I've gotten spoiled by all the little comforts I can take with me on a rack-equipped bike. And it has a training benefit, having been pushing a 50-pound bike all spring and summer, when I load up for the HH 100 at the end of the month and go from the 50-pound Surly to the 18-pound (loaded) Orbea, I'm counting on that 30-pound handicap