I do this a lot. I do have one bottled water horror story, however. I had a 1L convenience store water bottle in my trunk bag on a day trip out to Sunset Crater then on to Grand Falls the hard way - miles of washboard road. The flimsy 1L bottle had split from all the jostling so I was out of water once I'd drained my 3 bike-mounted bottles. I was so thankful to make it back to civilization and a Navajo preacher topped off my bike bottles with "city water".

Moral of the story: If you're in the rough stuff or want to reuse the bottle a lot, pick the sturdier 2L bottle if there's an option.

I still use 1L for smooth road trips all the time, though.

I'm also a fan of 2 liter pop botles. Sturdy, don't leak, easy to stow on top or in a pannier. Also lets you distribute the load a bit better then having 1 gallon bladders. A funny thing I've observed is that pop on sale is often cheaper than bottled water. I've been known to drink the odd bottle of coke, so this works out in my favor. Even if you buy the pop, pour it out and then refill the bottles from a tap, you still end up money ahead.
Cheers

I suggested the 2 liter bottles above in post number 18.

If you are carrying that much water, it is because you anticipate NEEDING that much water. While the 5 liter bladders may hold a lot and have a convenient spigot, they are quite fragile. I gave several to a friend a couple years ago that needed to haul a week worth of water on a kayak trip on the ocean. I told her to store them in a drybag when not packed in the boat in case one leaked. Then at least she would have a dry bag full of water. She gladly accepted the empty bladders but eventually she decided to use something else to carry her water due to the risk of a bladder failure.

On the other hand, if your goal is to collect several empty wine bladders and if you have the time to collect them, I suggest Merlot.

I've posted this before, but thought some of you might be interested. We improvised this insulation for one of my front panniers when we hit some very hot temperatures on a tour. It works great for keeping drinks and food cool. Just fill an empty sports drink bottle with ice in the morning(gas station or convienace store), and water and the day's food stay pretty cool. If you happen to spend the night in a motel, it is possible to freeze a water bottle. These have been relegated to hauling yogurt and ice cream from the store, but I did the same thing for one of my new panniers. It might also be a good way to haul a notebook or other fragile items--minus the ice. Six dollar sleeping pad from Wal Mart (will probably make 2) and some duct tape.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...nashbar2-1.jpghttp://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...nashbar3-1.jpg

My wife still carries a 12"x18" piece of the original pad on most of our tours. It comes in handy around camp and for resting a tired bottom while sitting on a rock. You can see it folded under her rack pack with her running shoes tucked in the fold. It helps keep her shoes handy, but dry in wet conditions.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...panniers-1.jpg

i use a 4l msr dromlite for extra water capacity beyond 4 water bottles

Good plan! That`s been on my "to do" list for a few years now, but I still haven`t gotten up that far with bike along. Diamond Craters, Steens Mtn, Malheur Refuge all within a few hours ride- very good conditions for adjusting a schedule to fit allowed time. BTW, the beautiful BLM campground at Page Springs (bout a mile from French Glen) was one of the cheapest actual campgrounds I`ve run into in ages at $8 per night. Bring bug juice.

Hi,
Ive done a few long trips were extra water cartidge is essential so I carry 3 water bottles on the bike and then use a few 2ltr sea to summit water bladders loaded in the bottom of my panniers, I have learn't that 2lt ones are best for stuffing into panniers and if you do burst a bladder your not losing your entire supply if you rely on say a 5-6ltr Bladder.
Sounds like your gonna have fun
Stay upright
Sam ;-)

TBatty,
I'm sorry, I missed the part about turning south at John Day. There is a great State park in Mt. Vernon @ 8 miles west of John Day-Hiker/biker, w/showers. There are also a couple of campgrounds on 395 between John Day and Burns. They are primative with just the esentails- toilet and water (maybe). Starr, about 15 miles south of JD and Idllewild, about 16 miles north of Burns. There is also quite a bit of National Forest and BLM lands along the highway which is all open to dispersed camping.

If you wanted to do an early side trip, there is a nice loop we used to ride -the "Ride around the Strawberry". The Strawberry Mountain (9036') Wilderness Area has a road around it which totals approximately 60 miles. Starting in John Day head east to Prairie City. At Prairie City take Road 62 heading south. It will intersect with Forest Road 16 which heads east and joins Highway 395 at Seneca. This ride takes you through some pretty nice country with a campground, Big Creek, at about the halfway point. You should be able to get water in Seneca, but it tastes awful. Fill up at Parish Cabin Campground about 10 miles east of Seneca.

Good luck on your ride, and don't forget the misquito repellent.

Lots of great sugggestions on the original question, and some good info on the region I will be riding in. Picking up a couple of 2L bottles just prior to heading into the long dry stretches sounds like the best option, although I and still going to experiment with the empty wine bladders as well, I have some time before the trip.

So, is there an easy way to get water in the wine bladders?

A very interesting thread. Having been in the Marines and lived in the Mojave for several years and also in the Middle East, don't forget that the best place to "store" water is to drink it. At that last spot to get water before heading in to the desolate areas - DRINK as much as you can without making yourself sick and top off your bottles. And I'll be following my own advice this summer touring across the Southern Tier. My concern is getting across Tx, NM and Az. I have 4 water bottles plus 2-64 oz bottles.