Hi to all!
Actually, I'm planning my trip and I'm very happy to fall on this thread!
Lately I was "inventing" my system of carrying lugguage on such trips.
My aim is to get rid of my backpack for as many ours a day as the "road conditions" allow me to-I mean all easy going flat and uphill stretches. (Mind you, this invention in purely in the drawtable-phase!!!! By posting this, I continue thinking out loud so to speak.)
For the time being, I can't scan drawings, next week I can use a fotocamera and I'll use it. In the meantime please accept my verbal explanation:
-On both shoulders of the fork-crown comes a horizontal tube(diameter perhaps 8 mm in case of aluminium, 4 mm in case of stainless steel) These tubes meet right above the front tire at a distance from the tire of: fork travel + 7 cm.
-The backpack is put back to front on this tube.(no balance so far: read on)
-The shoulder straps point to the handle-bar and get attached to it: very much depending on the specific possibilities of the pack, the shoulder straps can be hung over the handle-bar(so they come around it) and fixed with the little brest-strap, wrapped around the stem OR/AND extra straps can be attached to the-lower- compression straps of the pack and hung on the handle-bar. This should securely suspend the pack.
-Put the hip-bellt through the triangle of the frame and click.
--->
-I see one problem:
°messing up the brake/gearing tubes/cables. Should be solvable by mounting two attachment goodies on the bar to keep a certain distance between the pack and the cables.
-I see many advantages:
°Easy access to the pack,
°Continued use of drinking system,
°Continued use cell-phone-, camera-, sunglass- or whatever small pouches that are hung on the shoulder straps and even on the hipbelt.
°Easy helmet attachement- the same straps as when the pack would be on your back, only now, the helmet is almost the bumper (stossstange) of the bike.
°Super lightweight solution. I suspect it is even possible to replace the metal parts by another set of straps, in which case things get even lighter and easier to fabricate by yourself.
°Limited visual impact,
°Cheap,
°No problems getting on and of the bike,
°Good climbing balance by important weight-shift.
°It should be possible to make this "conversion" a one minute-job.
Very much open to suggestions,
Yours truly
)
;
Das wär ja echt 
