A Woo Hoo moment for me!

[slinkedog]

On Saturday, for the first time, I was able to take my water bottle out of the cage, drink and put it back in the cage. The entire process took forever, but I feel much better about the whole thing now!! Getting the bottle back in the cage was definitely the hardest part!!

[maillotpois]

Excellent! Took a while for me to be happy about doing that - especially in traffic. It will get to be second nature soon.

[Aggie_Ama]

It took me a while to master balancing on a bike. When I was finally able to get my bottle out, keep moving and replace it I felt like you do! ;)

[bikerz]

Well done!!!

You probably didn't do what I did the first time I managed that operation and accidentaly squirted my self in the face with the water! :o

[slinkedog]

Well done!!!

You probably didn't do what I did the first time I managed that operation and accidentaly squirted my self in the face with the water! :o

LOL! No, I didn't, but I did manage to dribble some down my chin in my moment of excitement. :o

[miffy'sFuji]

wow! yay! congratulations. I can't do that yet.:)

[SadieKate]

slinke, you are a woman of charm and elegance. I have to remember to stop breathing so I don't squirt the stuff down the wrong pipe. Don't ask me why but at least twice a year and only when crowds of strangers are riding near me, I end up spewing a mouthful of Cytomax all over the place because I forget to coordinate drinking and breathing. Oh well, I can be charming, really . . . :rolleyes:

[fatbottomedgurl]

I want to learn how to spit without hanging a loogie off my chin... I always have to take a swig of water and then squirt the whole mess out! My husband actually did a blow the nose thing - gross!:eek:

[Brina]

that is awesome. I still carefully plan where in my ride I will attempt this.

[Running Mommy]

WHOO HOO! I remember when I finally got that figured out. My husband used to torment me about my poor bike handling skills cause I couldn't do that... greeerrrrr:mad: :mad: :mad: I showed him!
Now I have rear bottle holders behind my seat. I still have issues w/ those sometimes. Esp. on the tri bike cause it's very squirrely.

[slinkedog]

Thanks to everyone for your shared joy on my behalf. :D

I really have felt like a major doofus for not being able to do this, so I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has struggled with the drinking-whilst-operating-a-moving-two-wheeled-conveyance issue. I was sure I was going to have to get a Camelbak, and I still may do it. But I'm glad to have the option of pulling my drink from my frame. Now I just have to practice. :)

SK, was that post charming and elegant enough for you? You are certainly one of the most charming women I have had the pleasure of being hollered at while descending. How many chicks can you say that about??? ;)

[Geonz]

I got the Camelbak... but for a long ride I like to have Gatorade in the ol' bottle. It took a while to learn and I still don't like to do it if people are close, 'cause we had a nasty spill one year 'cause somebody dropped a bottle and then people braked and the group went down. (So if somebody drops their bottle in a group, just keep on riding - it will usually scoot out of the way even if you hit it.)
I just got a new camelbak from ebay for $20 ... Hi-Viz... I look like a rolling School Patrol Wannabee.... but you can SEE ME!

[SadieKate]

slinke, I guess it is a good thing for me to be behind the two-wheeled conveyance of yours - you can't see me spitting and drooling pink stuff all over the place. Of course, maybe if I hold my pinky up at the same time, Miss Manners will approve.

Truthfully, keep practicing because this skills will make you feel just that much more secure in all situations. Your grace, poise and elegance will be apparent to all.

[KSH]

On Saturday, for the first time, I was able to take my water bottle out of the cage, drink and put it back in the cage. The entire process took forever, but I feel much better about the whole thing now!! Getting the bottle back in the cage was definitely the hardest part!!

Yea, it takes some practice to get that down! Congrats on doing it!

I know I can't really ride and get it in/out... ride as in keep my feet moving... so I only use water bottles when I know I'm going to have an easy ride.

If I am going to bang it out though, I wear my Camelback... so easy to ride and drink that way... without slowing the pace.

[bikerz]

I agree that getting the bottle back in the cage is harder than getting it out - that's what I was doing both times I dropped my water bottle (boy, does that make you feel like a dope!)

I though of you, Slinke, tonight when I took my bottle out WHILE PEDALING! I didn't even realize I had done it until I was drinking from it. But then I got more cautious and stopped pedaling to put it back... What's that saying? Pride goeth ....

[winddance]

I though of you, Slinke, tonight when I took my bottle out WHILE PEDALING!

I witnessed this! I was very impressed by bikerz's advanced water bottle wrangling.

[velogirl]

Here are a couple of tips (which you may or may not know):

Whenever you take one hand off the bar, move your other hand to the top (not the hoods or the drops). This will be more stable and prevent swerving while you take the other hand off the bar. Once you master this, then you can start working on drinking from the hoods or the drops.

When you grab your bottle (or put it back on the bike), never look down at the bike. Instead, keep looking ahead of you about 20 feet. Your bike will look where you go and there's rarely a reason to look down at your bike.

Here's a little something to practice. When you're standing at a stop, straddle your top tube and just reach down and grab the bottle then replace it over and over again. It takes time to learn where your bottle is on the bike (and different bikes will feel different due to variances in geometry). Even better, do this sitting on a stationary trainer. Before you know it, you'll be a pro!

Oh, and it helps to always use the same size and shape bottle.

One of the funny things about cycling is that most of us never "learn" how to ride (or do things like grab a bottle) -- we just do it as a child. There are lots of skills that we should practice which will make us better, safer riders.

[Crankin]

This is my next skill to perfect (after 5 years)! I had it down pretty well 2 years ago, but then I started using my Camelbak on longer rides and pretty soon i had lost my ability to do the water bottle. My riding partner is slower than me, so riding with her involves some stopping, so I usually just drink then. I really like the Camelbak, but I know it marks me as an "amateur" unless i am on my mtb.
Glad to know I am not the only person who hasn't mastered this.

[Tater]

Congrats on the bottle grab! What helped me was getting a bottle holder that was adjustable, so I could loosen the cage. Since it didn't hug the bottle as hard, sliding it out was a breeze!

[Hill Slug]

Last year on the Sunday portion of STP it was raining, I went to get take a swig of Cytomax, and I about spewed it because of the road grit on the mouth piece...:eek: So just a word of caution.....:rolleyes:

[CR400]

Good job! Sometimes it seems harder then it really is. There are times in fast group rides and now some races I don't use a bottle for fear of looking like an idot when I drop it. It's never been a problem getting it out its putting the dumb thing back. I drop it, the team leader tells me even in your traing rides you drop it, forget about it and keep going. That is stupid on a 50 mile ride.

[Dianyla]

Careful to not have the bottle cage too loose. You want to make sure it can hang onto a bottle when going over bumps. Bike Goddess, speaking of STP and water bottles, did you happen to notice coming over the bridge into OR there was this big ol' suspension joint BUMP! and then in the next 20 feet downhill from the bump there were about a dozen ejected water bottles lying in the bike lane?

[Lise]

I've got (as Napoleon Dynamite would say) skills with the water bottles--I even switched an empty one for a full one while riding today.

BUT. I nearly killed myself trying to roll down the sleeve I had rolled up while pedalling. Good Grief! :rolleyes:

[DirtDiva]

It's not the doing things while I'm riding that I have trouble with, it's the remembering to keep pedalling! :rolleyes:

[fatbottomedgurl]

Warning: Never, ever throw a frisbee while riding a bike. Okay, I was ten.:rolleyes:

[easterbird]

well fyi, I can drink from a water bottle when on my comfort bike Sedoana Giant cages;however, I can barely lift a hand to signal on road bike OCR c2! I have to plan a stop to drink on road bike ;cause I am still unstaedy with the new bike...I was same way on Sedona so I guess it will come in time. I am a Slooowww learner at 58 +!