There you go... that'll cause anything to go wonky!!!



I suppose a little will depend on your ride. I don't like to be grabbing for the water bottle in real technical areas. I've been experimenting a bit with a stainless bottle vs plastic bottle, and the plastic bottle is definitely easier to use. Also, I found that 100+ loaded miles into my last ride, and doing anything but pedaling becomes difficult.

I personally stop and get off my bike to eat a snack every once in a while (snack in a backpack or other bag).

I'm not sure about the drops. When I was a teenager, they were very comfortable. But, I never liked riding on the hoods. With new brake designs, the hoods are comfortable. I'll still hit the drops occasionally, but not a lot.

Also, when I was younger, it was typical to set the seat and the bars at the same level. Now, one will have a minimum of 10cm bar drop, I think in part due to changing positioning in the way the bike is configured. That means not only am I older , the drops are also lower.

Overall, I think it just takes practice.

On hard descents, It never hurts to scoot the butt back a bit, as it is more stable with braking.