Now that would be fun! How many miles do you have to ride to bike off a beer?
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I love my Camelbak - I have enough problem remembering to drink when it is so easy to use it - I KNOW I would never drink enough with a water bottle.
Lots of good advice already. When I started riding last summer, I picked a straight, quiet stretch of street to learn. Didn't take long to master when I remembered to practice at least once or twice on each ride. (Rides were shorter then!) I'm right-handed and so I keep my right hand on the bars and grab the bottle with my left. Had to keep my hand close to the stem at first but now I have more "range. I don't think I could switch hands to do it but that would probably be a nice skill to have.
This is good advice - this is how I get my bottle, I move one hand to the center. It feels much more stable that way. I also move my hand to the center when I signal and/or need to look behind me.
I also do the same thing Oakleaf mentioned with switching the bottles.
I try to avoid drinking when I know there will be potholes to dodge or traffic to watch out for. If traffic is heavy or the road is rough, and I'm very thirsty, I will pull over for a sec to safely drink. You definitely don't want to take your hands away from your brakes if you know you might need them :)