Do you use public drinking fountains?

[PamNY]

Absolutely. I got just about as sick as I've ever been in my adult life during Bike Virginia in 2003 from just this. We were riding through a rural area with chicken farms, and it had rained recently, so apparently there was chicken poop in the rain run-off on the road. Or at least that's what the CDC came up with when over 100 of us contracted Camplyobacter during or after the event. Oh, I was so sick!

But I do drink out of public water fountains without a thought. I too have a bit of a psychological aversion to drinking water out of glasses or bottles filled from a bathroom sink, though I'll do it.

Emily, that sounds like no fun at all. I think campylobacter can turn up in pigeon poop -- that's one of the reasons I wondered about the safety of park fountains.

[Jolt]

I DO know someone who got very sick from drinking water from a frame-mounted water bottle. You do know that if you ride through water, whatever's in that water is now on the valve of your water bottle ... reclaimed water in the suburbs, dogsh*t and automotive chemicals in the city, cow and pig manure and ag chemicals in the country. But I still drink from my water bottle, and so does everyone else I know.

"Yecch...this tastes like crap!!!" All smart-azzery aside, that is a good point that I hadn't thought of. Maybe that's why they make some water bottles with the flip top cover over the valve.

[Owlie]

That, I think, is the big advantage with the valve on the Camelbak podium bottles over the conventional valve found on a lot of bottles. I still think the Polar bottles are better insulated, but it turns out that the lids from the big Podium bottles fit the 24oz Polar bottles.

[nuliajuk]

I'm sure I've seen water bottles with a flip-off cap over the valve somewhere. Can't remember who makes them, though.

[Crankin]

I can't believe this thread is still going.

[Irulan]

You know, this thread was definitely on my mind this morning when it rained on our club ride.

I DO know someone who got very sick from drinking water from a frame-mounted water bottle. You do know that if you ride through water, whatever's in that water is now on the valve of your water bottle ... reclaimed water in the suburbs, dogsh*t and automotive chemicals in the city, cow and pig manure and ag chemicals in the country. But I still drink from my water bottle, and so does everyone else I know.

Anyone here remember when Tinker Juarez ( famous mountain bike racer) got Gieardia from mud during race from it getting on his frame mounted water bottle?

[PamNY]

I had this bottle with a cover, but I dropped it and the cover broke off. Thanks to this thread, I'm ordering a new one.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80942

Also on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-ATB-Al.../dp/B002PLUEVC

[Owlie]

I can't believe this thread is still going.

Maybe not the best phrase to use, given the Campylobacter mentioned upthread...

[GLC1968]

I drink from public fountains all the time. I fill water bottles from them as well (except in FL where the water tastes awful to me!). Somehow, outdoors fountains seem safer to me than indoors ones...maybe because fresh air seems better than stale, recycled air? Who knows.

There was more than once that I accidentally got sprayed in the face with chicken crap laced water when cleaning out our coops and I never got sick. Of course, our birds were healthy but you never know. I also make my own mayo with raw eggs. I can my own stuff and eat it two years later. I put things in the crock pot in the morning but don't turn it on until noon. I leave my lunch on my desk instead of putting in the fridge (it is insulated). Oh the horror!

I also travel a lot for work. I touch a lot of stuff around a lot of people...many of whom are sick and oblivious as to how to keep their germs to themselves. Eh. I don't get sick often and when I do, it's mild.

I think I have a pretty awesome immune system and it's probably a good thing since clearly, I'm kind of the opposite of a germaphobe!

[ny biker]

I don't get sick often and when I do, it's mild.

Unfortunately not everyone reacts like that. I've had experiences where everyone at work gets sick and is better after a week, while I'm still coughing up parts of my lungs three weeks later. This is why I developed my germaphobe habits.

[Crankin]

I'm like GLC, in that I don't routinely think about germs. I used to get sick all of the time, but since I started spending more time outdoors, it's decreased immensely. So while I have some chronic things, I just don't worry about stuff like this.
I rode through a lot of farm country on my recent Vermont tour, but with no ill effects. When I told DH about the chicken poop issue based on this thread, he said it traumatized him and couldn't get it out of his head!

[Pax]

I work at a university and use the public water fountains all day, refill my water bottle at least three times a days from one as well. I don't seem to get sick very often (except the endless belly issues left over from the Mexico trip), I wonder if it's related to being around 40,000 college kids who seem to be sick A LOT; maybe I've gained a better immune system from it?

[emily_in_nc]

I rode through a lot of farm country on my recent Vermont tour, but with no ill effects. When I told DH about the chicken poop issue based on this thread, he said it traumatized him and couldn't get it out of his head!

Oh gosh, I am so sorry! My DH was on the same ride as me and drank from his water bottle with nary a problem. I guess just a small % of folks on the ride were affected by the bacteria. I still use water bottles and don't worry about it, and my immune system tends to be pretty good in that I rarely get colds, etc. I think what happened on that ill-fated Bike Virginia is very rare, so I hope your DH won't let it worry him unduly.

[OakLeaf]

I flew out of LGA my last trip, and they now have no-touch water bottle refilling stations at the drinking fountains. A slot with an optical switch (and no soap to gum it up like the optical switches in the handwashing sinks), a high-flow vertical spout, zip zam zoom. I would love to see more of these!

[nuliajuk]

Scary mention of campylobacter in this month's Discover magazine. In the Vital Signs feature was a man who turned out to have Guillain-Barre syndrome. Apparently one of the things that can trigger it is this bacteria. It has a lipid profile similar to the fatty myelin sheathing on nerves.