Originally Posted by Jaeger99

^^^ Depends on where I am riding - around my neighborhood I guess I'm never that far from a corner store or a park with a water fountain. But I'm not looking to add additional stops on my ride. Out in the country - and being on the edge of the suburbs, country roads are less than 10km away - it's a different story. Two water bottles were enough to get me through that 50km ride - with water to spare - without having to stop for refills. So the question from my perspective really isn't why I would carry two bottles, but why wouldn't I? I don't much care for warm water - which is what you get out of a lot of public fountains. The Big Chill bottle keeps ice water very cold over a long hall, and the smaller uninsulated bottle I freeze solid the night before.

So far I really haven't bothered with salt replacement - I hate those electrolyte drinks. Some of my roadbike buddies have suggested these dissolvable tablets, but I haven't tried them yet. When my rides get longer - and later in the day - I may give that a try.