Tulip, my bottle cage is on the down tube. I think by getting a cage with a looser fit, I will be able to pull the thing out. After all, my bottle drinking skills are on the edge to begin with. Change one thing, and my precarious coordination is gone. I finally stopped using my Camelbak last season. after 6 years of riding! I am not going to get the cages that go behind the seat, because I have a rack attached there and I don't think there's room for anything else. This bike is not going to be used for long rides. My commute to work is 14.5 miles and I usually only take one drink in the morning. On the way home I have a routine of stopping at a park and taking a long drink on those really hot days at the end of the school year (Why are the 90 degree days always on the day I decide to commute?).
I can always put extra bottles in the pannier. Since it's going to be 45 on Saturday, I am going to test the bike out more; probably do a 20 mile ride.

Riding this bike will make me feel really strong on my Kuota, which is happily on the trainer, out of the sandy, slushy street.