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On board catering

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Andybg:
First of all I must admit that keeping hydrated and fueled while cycling is one of my weak points.

I am a roadie of the 80's and along with pushing big gears (and most of them eliptical) came the habit of never eating and rarely drinking. I think a 500ml campag aero bottle was seen as overkill for anything less than a day ride.

Anyway back to the present. As I push my rides over the 100km mark, I am finding hydration and fueling a bigger and bigger issue. I dont particularly like to stop but dont really enjoy drinking on the bike (I am getting there though but just need to fing some bottles that dont make the water taste like plastic) but eating has been an ongoing project.

I have been trialing both trail mix and jelly babies which I find palatable (not at the same time) while riding but have trouble with the whole bag in the back pocket malarky.

On my ride yesterday I came up with an idea which worked for me and may either be well known to others or considered idiocy.

I emptied out one of my waterbottles and filled it with jelly babies.


Leaving the top off the bottle gave me an easy way to get them to my mouth rather than all over the road.

Just an idea to put out there and maybe get some further ideas.

Am thinking of two handle bar mouted water bottles and then I can have a pic and mix lol

Regards

Andy

Danneaux:
Some good ideas, Andy!

For extra water capacity with your existing cages, you may wish to look at the Zefal Magnum series of 1l bottles. I've been very pleased with mine (see my Danneaux's Sherpa and Danneaux's Nomad) galleries, where I have a pair mounted in CatEye nylon cages attached to the steerer. I run three 1.5liter bottles in Blackburn Bomber cages in the usual frame locations, for a total of 6.5l on the bike. They are tasteful in appearance, but tasteless in use (at least for my black ones). The trick to avoiding leaks is to get the screw-lid tight. You do this by holding the lid in one hand and the base of the bottle in the other. Done. See: http://www.zefal.com/en/bottles/68-magnum.html

You may also wish to explore the various "tool bottles" intended to carry um, tools in bottle cages. They come in two sizes -- about equivalent to .5l and .75l bottles, and have watertight screw-top lids. Soma make some, and the essentially identical tool bottles are available in the UK and Eurozone. I'm about to step out the door so am running short on time, but a link to the Somas is here:
http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/stash-bottle
...they'd be ideal for carrying on-the-go food, even trail mix or energy bars. I have a set on my Folder project and like them very much! They make an ideal holder for cell phones and such that really should be kept dry when riding.

All the best,

Dan. (...who should have been in Yachats, digging a ditch, more than an hour ago...and it'll take me an hour forty-five to drive there!)

Andybg:
While surfing I spotted these which look just the job.

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=2&ProductID=12

Along with some other interesting items so well worth a gander

Andy

Danneaux:
This is a really intriguing product, Andy, and would serve much the same function as a handlebar bag (for snacks and day-trip food) at a fraction of the size and weight. I sometimes put a little stuff sack or my tool bottle in my steerer-mounted bottle cages for much the same purpose -- really handy for eating on the fly, and keeps one's back jersey pockets from getting unduly strained carrying too many energy bars, fig bars, nuts, and such. I like how this one is stabilized in two places so it doesn't wiggle away from probing fingers.  I do wish it had a little flip-up rain cap, but the drawstring should do a reasonable job keeping the contents dry. It would be easy to detach and empty out the little debris that always collects in the bottom of such containers, keeping it neat and clean.

Their other products are interesting as well, and I love the names they chose -- "Gas Tank" and "Jerry Can" -- all designed to hold things and fill you up when you're feeling empty!

Nice find!

Best,

Dan.

Andybg:
Certainly interesting products and there may even be a standard frame bag that may suit some of the thorn sizes. Strange to note though that they were not offering the bag for the Long Haul Trucker which you would think would be the biggest customer for extra storage.

I know these are targeted at those without pannier racks but I dont see that having panniers makes the principle obsolete.

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