Yeah, I was thinking up to 1 1/2 hours made sense for just water, but any longer might require more. However, if it's hot and/or I intend to ride pretty intensely for that hour and a half, I might want some Cytomax at some point for energy. (Or some other form of energy, but I'd probably go with it in liquid form.)

Today was my first "water only" ride day. And guess what! I survived! It was an easy recovery ride, so a good one to start with.

Someone mentioned NOT using a sports drink BECAUSE they get dehydrated easily. That's backward thinking, since part of the point of sports drinks is to replace electrolytes, which equals hydration. There are many sports drinks that have a lot less sugar than Gateraide ... and less other junk, like food coloring.

Thanks for all your replies.