Fifty Plus (50+) - cycling glove as beer coolie

At our series ending cyclo cross race yesterday there were many riders tipping a cold one to celebrate the end of our local race season. Being a guy who knows that his wife would not appreciate her 57 yr old husband getting an "open container" citation, I put my bottle of beer into my cycling glove. It worked perfectly by keeping the bottle stealthy and the beer cool. Several others saw and commented on the discovery and soon there were additional cyclist utilizing the new technique.;)

Are there any additional "dual uses" of cycling related equipment and gear I should be aware of?

I use my bottle cage as a holder for my jacket when I ride is sketchy weather. My road bike has no rack or place to put anything, so I just skrunch up my jacket and stuff it in one of the bottle cages. I imagine this would work even better if I had a small stuff sack.

Very resourceful. :)

I have also used a glove this way. Another trick is to wrap the bandanna I wear under my helmet around the beer bottle or can. The biggest problem with either approach is the distinct possibility of taking a strong whiff of sweat-funk and diminishing the pleasure of the beer. :(

Very resourceful. :)

I have also used a glove this way. Another trick is to wrap the bandanna I wear under my helmet around the beer bottle or can. The biggest problem with either approach is the distinct possibility of taking a strong whiff of sweat-funk and diminishing the pleasure of the beer. :(

It's a risk I'm willing to take.:p

On a few occasions I've simply poured beer straight into an empty water bottle.

The cops probably know all the tricks, so I doubt if we're fooling anyone.

Are there any additional "dual uses" of cycling related equipment and gear I should be aware of?

A spare bottle cage and a couple of zip ties (or one of the "universal mount" cages) on the lawn mower will make mowing in the summer a bit less painful.

I keep an extra blinky attached to the visor of the car for nighttime tire changes; I also carry flares, but they're a little uncomfortable when attached to one's belt.

The bike itself doubles as a drying rack for sweaty reflector vests from running.

Make a cozy out of Rice Krispy Treats,

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d126/telehammer/beer_10.jpg

^ and we have a winner! :thumb:

Make a cozy out of Rice Krispy Treats,

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d126/telehammer/beer_10.jpg

Put some peanut butter layers in that and I'd call it dinner.:D

I do remember a time this past spring where I needed to do a specific hill workout using heart rate and time. My wife wanted me to roto till the garden that day because of the incoming monsoon. I went out in the daylight and did the bike workout. Once home I found that I needed gas for the tiller then it wouldn't start for a while resulting in daylight running out. I mounted a bike light on my helmet and one on the tiller handle and proceeded to till the garden in the darkness. When I was done tilling I took the bike light from the tiller and attached it to a rake handle and leveled out the soil.:thumb: The bike helmet/light combo also works well when working under the car hood.

Use your pump to fan a fire.

Use your pump to fan a fire.

I use a leaf blower for that. Just a tip, don't use it to re-energize a campfire at night, the ladies get freaked out.

This past summer I rode a 50 mile charity fund raiser during high heat and humidity on the Rhode Island/Mass. border. I used 3 water bottles, either frozen or partly frozen. The partly frozen one, sitting in a cage, was used first and stayed cold 'till empty. A second water bottle, fully frozen and inside a fleece mitten, began the day in a jersey pocket, was then exchanged with the empty and the empty went into the jersey pocket. The third and last bottle, also sitting inside a fleece mitten, also stayed cold or cool the length of the ride. The mittens fit right over the water bottles in their cages fine.