4 water bottles?!?
 

Yesterday while participating in Ragnar del Sol (running) our course and the Tour de Phoenix (cycling) merged so I was able to watch many cycles go by, what really caught my eye was the number of people with 2 bottles on the frame PLUS 2 bottles on the seat. This is a ~74 mile ride with 7 aid/water stations what the heck?

Are these the same people that show up for a 5K or 10K wearing a camelback or fuel belt?

I understand an unassisted 74 mile ride (through the desert) with 4 bottles but something like this seems way out of line.

BTW these were mid-packers not the fast guys that don't/won't stop.

who cares. Are you a poseur? Let people do what they want.

it's not a big deal. neither is it out of line.

I don't see the point, perhaps those were people coming from cold weather, afraid of the phoenix dryness and hotness?

I rode a 50 mile group ride(casual riders not racers) with a guy who had the same setup and was worried about running out. I on the other hand rarely carry two bottle unless it is very hot or going to be a 4 hour no stop ride. Different strokes-different folks. I do like seeing the 5K runners with the fully loaded fuel belt and still stopping at the aid stations though.

I'd say a bottle an hour is about right. And if you don't feel like stopping at the aid stations four seems good.

if that's what makes them happy...who gives a hoot how many bottles they have?

FYI, I'm seriously considering the same. I sweat a great deal, and although there are many places I can stop for water, sometimes I don't want to. On a few of my rides, I can't stop, but of course that's not the case here. I go through at least a large bottle (~28 oz) of water every hour, and still lose weight - I'm quite the sweater, and I don't mean a cardigan.

My suspicion is that it's kind of like chain oiling.

When people first start to ride, they seldom do any bike maintenance. After a while, they learn that they need to lube their chain so they do it before every single ride and sometimes even in the middle of a ride. YUCK!

Same's true of water bottles. They may start out with none or one but shortly start to obcess about running out of water and find ways to carry more with them.

In time both groups seem to find the happy middle ground.

Are you sure all those bottles contain just water? I carry one water bottle with water and another wide mouth "magnum" type bottle with trail mix, fig bars, or other similar energy foods so I can easily get it out and "pour" it in my mouth never needing to stop.

some people are just particular about what they put in the their body. if i was doing 74 mile ride like that, i would save a bottle of flat Coke for the last 15 miles, for an extra energy boost at the end of the ride. i would take it with me though, because i certainly wouldn't want to cross my fingers and hope that one of the rest/aid stations have some flat Coke laying around, because chances are they wouldn't unless it was a run-only event...

I used to carry 4 bottles

2 water, 1 energy drink and one filled with 2 spare tubes and levers.

I like to have a large bottle an hour, but usually carry 2 and know where "free" water is on my rides (ice cream stands with outdoor bubblers, Mt Wachusett visitors center, etc) Or I'll stop in a store if need be. I wouldn't bring 4 bottles on a supported ride though.

I don't think so, old 531, down tube shifters, tech t-shirt with fanny pack instead of jersey.

This just seemed extreme to me. I think I know my limits and my body's needs, I guess I should have asked for other's opinions, maybe it isn't as odd as it looked to me.

Two bottles for 35 miles sounds about right to me so I'd plan on a break about there. Just finished 24 miles w/2000' of climb, out and back, used about 12 oz, but it's cool (35 at start and 60 now) not in the heat of the desert.

Hey, my kind of Retro Grouch ;)

I drink a lot of water when I ride, even on cooler days I'm drinking about one bottle every 10 miles, but if I were on that ride I'd just take two and fill up at the stations.

+1