For the water bottle

I happen to love unsweetened peach tea. I prefer herbal (Celestial Seasonings) that is made from real ingredients and not artificial peach flavor, etc. I also like their peach black tea that has caffeine and real tea. I often add fresh mint, but as I said, no sweetener or sugar.

Last night I filled a water bottle with herbal peach tea and popped it in the fridge. This morning I took a polar bottle, filled it with ice, then topped it off with the peach tea and tossed a few sprigs of mint in on top.

It was really refreshing as I rode. I sometimes find that more refreshing than plain water, and after the first charge of relief I find that sugared beverages just make me thirstier.

What do y'all use?

(P.S. Just popped three cranberry/raspberry Cliff blocks and boy are they good.)

I love Yogi Tea's Lemon and Ginger.

I like to get green tea at convenience stores for a change, when I stop. But I always carry Endurance Gatorade, and choc milk in the colder months. I also always get Coke Blak when I stop, if they have it...

But I LOVE sugar free blueberry tea for the ride home!!

Nanci

Mostly I like plain water. If (really big if) I remember, I stick a half-full bottle of water in the freezer at night, and top it off when I go out. The water stays cold for whole minutes!

I've also been known to carry a bottle of plain iced tea.

Once in a very great while a can of Red Bull well diluted with ice is along on my rides, but I can do without, generally.

I'm not a Gatoraid drinker.

PowerBar Endurance drink now has a tasty Sun Tea flavor, for anyone else out there who doesn't like fruit punch or lemon-lime or orange flavored stuff. It tastes very similar to the Lipton iced tea you can get in cans.

This thread reminds me of one thing I'm grateful for about cycling-- I don't have to worry about my water bottle contents freezing, like I do when I ski :)

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Originally Posted by Nanci

I like to get green tea at convenience stores for a change, when I stop. But I always carry Endurance Gatorade, and choc milk in the colder months. I also always get Coke Blak when I stop, if they have it...

But I LOVE sugar free blueberry tea for the ride home!!

Nanci

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I just found it interesting that there is someone who likes Coke Blak. I tried it.... Bleh. And I'm not getting down on you, of course... it's just curious how people's taste varies.

Now tea, that I can get on board with. I've been experimenting with putting a little salt and just a little sugar... Gatorade and that stuff is sometimes too sweet, though I really like sweet tea too.

I tried making some homemade gel with Brown Rice syrup, unsweetned instant tea and a little unsweetned rasberry Kool-Aid... not HORRIBLE... but certainly not quite right either.

I only use plain water. That way I can squirt some on my head when I'm hot. Gatorade hair would be gross. :eek: I have yet to figure out how to squirt my head from a hydration hose while riding. If anyone has mastered this, please tell.

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Originally Posted by Hammer

I just found it interesting that there is someone who likes Coke Blak. I tried it.... Bleh. And I'm not getting down on you, of course... it's just curious how people's taste varies.

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Really! That stuff was just nasty! (In my humble opinion...) It tasted like a cup of coffee left out overnight that someone used as an ashtray for a few days. Seriously! I tried it once, and AFTER I paid for it, the shop owner laughed and said that he's never seen anyone who actually liked the stuff. I knew there had to be ONE person out there who liked it - now we know who it was!

Has anyone tried Smartwater? It's a non-flavored electrolyte replacement drink. Tastes like regular water to me, and has calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonite.

Hah! I addicted another cyclist this Sunday! That makes four converts in my little club group alone! You just have to give it a chance!!

I think it tastes like rootbeer, sort of.

Nanci

Coffee & coke -- sounds like Coke Blecchh to me!

I like strong tea with a healthy shot of lemon... but I have to drink it before the lemon gets funky, not forget it for a day or two. (I sometimes forget the bottle 'cause I have the camelbak. I sometiems forget just about anything.)

99 miles towards July's 1000....

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Originally Posted by dachshund

Has anyone tried Smartwater? It's a non-flavored electrolyte replacement drink. Tastes like regular water to me, and has calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonite.

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I drink smartwater all the time. To be honest I think I pee less when I drink that over reg water. I feel better about drinking it too sence it seems to have more of what we need after exercising. I wonder if it could take the place of the sweet sport drinks?

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Originally Posted by DebW

I have yet to figure out how to squirt my head from a hydration hose while riding. If anyone has mastered this, please tell.

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Unscrew the lid, tip & pour. That's the only thing I can thing of! ;)

What a great thread... I never considered cold teas as an option, no sugar, yet sweet
Gonna try ginger and strawberry and licorice teas...
Thanks ladies!

I read on a Thrifty Living type board that sports drinks are basically glucose or dextrose or fructose with a little salt. So recently I have been experimenting with that and have come up with the Ultimate.
Which is about 2 tablespoons of pomegranate concentrate ( A Turkish thing readily available here it is quite tart and refreshing), 1/3 tsp sea salt, and 4 level tea spoons of fructose. The last is sweeter than regular sugar so you don't need much. I make this up to 1 litre with water.
Might try the tea thing with a "bouquet" of home-grown fresh spearmint / lemon /verbena / melissa leaves. I drink that during the day at work. I make 1 liter on arrival and sit the jug (pitcher) to cool and keep cool on the air condition unit .Actually I am growing the spearmint outside the work window and am working on extending the "plantation" (just call me MacGyver)

the only thing that goes in my polar water bottles is water!

on century rides (or longer) i will save 1 or 2 propel bottles and fill them with garorade.... i keep those in my handlebar bag... and can throw it/them away when done!

for metrics and anything shorter i only ever drink water!

Yeah. Like Cali, I only have ever used water

But on a hot day I can see cold tea/flavoured water being a nice change

When my son and partner go out on Sundays for there 120km or more training rides they have water in one bottle and water with glucose in the other.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

Unscrew the lid, tip & pour. That's the only thing I can thing of! ;)

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Actually, what works when you get near the bottom of your bag is to blow some air in to get a little pressure, then just squeeze the mouthpiece (for camelbaks) and the air pressure will force the water right out.