I’m a dedicated bike commuter. From late spring to early winter, I ride to work almost every day, with a round trip of about 25 km (15 miles). I use a nice touring bike (Trek 520), with front and rear racks. So far this year I have covered about 2300 km, and expect to do about 4000 km (2500 miles) before it gets too icy for me.

You learn quite a bit about dressing appropriately from the conditions you need to contend with. In the early season and late season, I may start out in freezing conditions in the morning (on the way home too at the very end – late November or early December), while in mid season, it gets steamy on the ride home. I deal with rain at all temperatures, and only wimp out when it’s a driving rain in the morning below about 5 C (about 40 F). Staying hydrated is only an issue for the hottest rides home. The season ends when it’s too icy, and not because it’s too cold.

Most days I have small panniers on the front rack only, containing my bike repair kit, lunch, weather gear, FAK (AMK Ultralight.5) and EDC. The EDC stays in a small compressible waist-pack inside a pannier.

The bike repair kit consists of
mini-pump
patches
plastic tire irons
bike multi-tool with all necessary Allan keys, spoke wrench and chain tool.

I also carry a replacement tube, after an incident with an irreparable puncture a few months ago.

The EDC consists of
Ritter PSK
Leatherman Charge Ti with bits,
Spyderco Delica
Petzl Zippka
Space pen
Windmill lighter
Chouinard Expedition Sewing kit, wrapped with masons line
Spork
Estwing mini prybar
Tylenol
Wire ties, assorted
550 Parachute cord
Spare reading glasses
Space blanket
Bandana
Irwin "Heavy Duty Job Site" work gloves
Swisscard in my wallet

Add it all up and it doesn’t weigh much, except for the Charge.

I tend to drop 15 pounds through the cycling season, and gain back about 10 in the off-season. I’m on a long-term trend to getting my weight back to where I want it to be. I’ll give you my age (50), but not my weight.