Winter Cycling - what's in your water bottle?

anyone else put tea or a warm drink in their water bottle in the a.m.?

i love having hot tea for a commuting ride - though i wish it would stay warm past 5 miles. :)

i guess i need one of those fancy water bottle insulators to keep my tea hot for the whole ride. santa did not come through for me this year.

I have a friend whose water bottle contents include:

Water
Glucose
Orange juice
2 Aspirins :eek:

I'm trying to figure out why. And after my ride to work on Boxing Day which was stupidly hot, I'm trying to figure out how to keep water reasonably cool in such conditions. I haven't had a shower that hot in months.

Originally posted by junebride
anyone else put tea or a warm drink in their water bottle in the a.m.?

i love having hot tea for a commuting ride - though i wish it would stay warm past 5 miles. :)

i guess i need one of those fancy water bottle insulators to keep my tea hot for the whole ride. santa did not come through for me this year.

Why not try a vacuum flask?

I put tea in an insulated cup which has a small diameter base that fits into the bottle cage. It stays hot for about 15 minutes in sub-freezing weather and stays warm for the next 15 minutes after it is declassified from "Hot".

So... I'm with you on the hot tea idea.

Have you tried "Polar Bottles" They are an insulated water bottle available at an LBS. I have only used them for cold, but they are supposed to work for hot also.

Originally posted by Chris L
I have a friend whose water bottle contents include:

Water
Glucose
Orange juice
2 Aspirins :eek:


I always try to keep orange juice packed away.

(Aspirins? ACK! Could be and addiction. Do his ears ring a lot? :D )

Originally posted by Pete Clark

(Aspirins? ACK! Could be and addiction. Do his ears ring a lot? :D )

Apparently he uses them to reduce the pain in his legs on the hills. Maybe all the other stuff in there kills the taste of them. I don't think I'll start using them though, I quite like pain.

Originally posted by Chris L
I'm trying to figure out how to keep water reasonably cool

Suck on a peppermint candy for a few seconds just before drinking the water. It doesn't change the temperature of the water, but it will greatly change the perceived temperature. Also, I hear good things about Polar water bottles.

Kevin S.

Originally posted by ljbike
Have you tried "Polar Bottles" They are an insulated water bottle available at an LBS. I have only used them for cold, but they are supposed to work for hot also.

I got one for Christmas, and it works pretty well for keeping hot water from freezing. I put hot water in it, and at 15 degrees Farenheit the water was still liquid 5 hours later, although there was some ice in it. This was my aim, as a solidly frozen waterbottle is just useless weight.

Since it's plastic, it might not work to put a tea bag and boiling water in it.

I'm still happy drinking not-hot stuff, as I guzzle water at stoplights and it's hard to guzzle hot stuff, but,

I did run across this site a ways back, while searching for ways to mount additional water bottle carriers on my bike:

Steven M. Scharf's World Famous Bicycle Coffee Systems

hosted at:
http://www.geocities.com/scharf_steven/bikecoff.htm
and
http://bikecoffee.freeservers.com/

the site is pretty amusing, and actually pretty informative -- there's lots of info on various ways/products to carry hot beverages on the bike.

Mr. Scharf appears to be a man obsessed, and dedicated to sharing the joy of coffee with his fellow cyclists. He does not seem to be in favour of herbal tea.


-Cathy

Old time professional racers used to put red wine or even champagne in their bidons.

Originally posted by MichaelW
Old time professional racers used to put red wine or even champagne in their bidons.

Any kind of alcohol for that matter.

Have you tried "Polar Bottles" They are an insulated water bottle available at an LBS. I have only used them for cold, but they are supposed to work for hot also.

I have to get some water bottle cages for my winter bike, and the idea of polar bottles is a good one. Assuming the polar bottles require a certain wall-thickness for insulation ... do these polar bottles require a bigger-sized water bottle cage?

Or do water bottle cages only come in one size, and the polar bottles will fit in the standard cages?

anyone else put tea or a warm drink in their water bottle in the a.m.?

I cannot take a warm drink on a ride. I heat up enough - even in the dead of winter. I find that I still need a cold drink even when it's below freezing outside. Perhaps I'm a freak? :eek:

... Brad

I have to get some water bottle cages for my winter bike, and the idea of polar bottles is a good one. Assuming the polar bottles require a certain wall-thickness for insulation ... do these polar bottles require a bigger-sized water bottle cage?

They fit in standard cages. They work relatively well for keeping stuff cold, however, your drink will not be cold for the entire ride. They do work better than standard bottles though.

... Brad

Water. In summer the ride home has a scoop of heed.

I have a friend whose water bottle contents include:

Water
Glucose
Orange juice
2 Aspirins :eek:

Gross D:

Ice

I'll reply to a 6 year old thread too. :D
Nothin but water in my bottles, even in winter. I have a thermos for coffee or hot chocolate should I get the desire.
In case I need a little sugar on my ride in the winter (medical issues) I cary pixie-stix with me. They don't freeze like gels or beans do. ;)

Gookinaid. Always gookinaid!
http://www.rei.com/product/520007
http://www.lonestarairsoft.com/forums/reviewpost/data/2/934520007_1182.jpg

http://www.performancebike.com/product_images/400/20-1255-LMN-FRONT.jpg + http://www.somafuel.com/products/ON.GlutaminePowder.2.2lbs.jpg

As far as winter goes, my bottle gets warm water. After maybe 10-30m it gets rather cold, can't drink it fast because it gives ice-cream throat. Not long after that stage it barely trickles out of the bottle anymore, cause it's frozen.

Putting the bottle in a wool sock helps.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x25/coutujean/e5840dd0.jpg

I have a 500 ml vacuum bottle for my tea / coffee and use a MEC pack with a hydration pack... my body heat will keep the water thawed and one just has to remember to siphon water back into the reservoir so it does not freeze in the mouthpiece and tube.