Drink & Ride Simultaneously?

[rubysoho]

Oh thanks for the replies. Okay, I will practice in mini steps and will do so in a safe place.

When I had my 1975 Schwinn Le Tour I could literally ride for miles with no hands, as long as the road was flat and relatively straight! I wouldn't dare try that now.

Mini-steps and getting the guts to do it is what helped me. I think I held a bottle for a 1/4 mile before I could get it put back. It didn't help that I was laughing because I was embarrassed.

What helped the most was just practicing placing my hand down on the bottle for a moment or two. In the very beginning I could only reach halfway for the bottle. It was a very gradual process.

Glance down to where the bottle needs to be returned to. If you can't find it, reset (sit back up, pedal with the bottle in hand) and try again. Having straight stretches of road/trail to practice on helps a lot.

Baby steps and smile.

[OakLeaf]

You've got good advice. The only thing I would add is on your original question, it IS easier for me to reach the bottle on the down tube. That might just be because I had so much more practice with down tube shifters. When I drain that bottle, I hold it in my teeth and switch the full one from the seat tube to the down tube cage, so I never actually drink out of the bottle on the seat tube.

[jessmarimba]

I can get the bottle out and drink, but tend to miss when putting it back in the cage (though my old cage was smushed in a wreck and required a lot of force to get a bottle in). Haven't tried with my shiny new cages - I have so many lights on my way to work that drinking then gives me something to do while waiting (and waiting and waiting...)

[ny biker]

When I drain that bottle, I hold it in my teeth and switch the full one from the seat tube to the down tube cage, so I never actually drink out of the bottle on the seat tube.

That's how I do it, too.