Hopefully, repubishing it here doesn't violate any copyright laws - fingers crossed.

You might be interested in http://old.reddit.com/r/ultralight - the subreddit is devoted to the art of min/maxing hiking and camping gear and utility - as an aspiring engineer, I find the info here is highly useful and relevant.

Personally, I follow a similiar route with my EDC - SC (which I'm sorry you missed) is a small place, and I can use my bike to get everywhere. Usually,, I keep a backpack full of potentially usable items in one of the baskets, It's bulky enough that you don't want to make a habit of carrying it everywhere on foot, but small and lightweight enough that bringing it with me to and from a bike (which acts as a "home base/pack mule" wherever I lock it up) is easily managable. I enjoy having the ability to carry the extra gear and supplies, just in case.

I did learn the extremely hard way you do not want to overload your bike! Extra mass isn't just encumbersome, it's dangerous, and you want to be careful how much you cart around, and for how long. With the right weight load, however, this shouldn't be a problem.

Many places might not have waterways, but there's always a road to travel.