Originally Posted by
sstorkel
Who wants to carry 5 or 10lbs of water on a ride? I carry two 24oz bottles and a few packets of
CarboRocket or Gatorade. With a little flavor added, even warm water is quite tasty and drinkable. On warm days, I stop at convenience stores, restaurants, or public water fountains to refill as often as necessary.
For road riding I do the same thing, by planning my routes I can get away with 2 bottles. On mountain bike rides, the CamelBak goes with me for a couple of reasons. First, of course is that it lets me hold an extra 70 ounces of water in places where getting more water is not an option. The second is that the water bottles get dirt and mud get on them, from the trail, which does not taste good. I put my electrolyte drinks in my bottles and take off the lid to drink to keep from swallowing trail debris. I find that filling my CamelBak with ice and using the smaller units helps keep my back cooler too.