I'm assuming you are meaning for am IM distance with my response but for training I have the aero and plus 3 others but for race day it's just the aero and the cage on the frame as I can get easy refills every 10 miles. I put one 1/2 bottle behind me on the seat "just in case" I drop my frame one, but don't rely on it. As for the mixing I typically start with gatorade in the aero and water in the cage then at the next station dump H20 into the aero and just start alternating every time it gets down to about 1/4 full. I grab a fresh whatever at the aid station for the frame holder, opposite from what is in my aero bottle. It seems to work and gives me the right mix of gatorade and water for hydration.

If youve only trained "a bit" with the Spiz why would you use it on a long distance race day? Race how you train and save the new things for the beginning of the season.

Finally, while I'm all for taking extras onto the course, like Spiz, if you train with it and need it but drop the bottle you'll be screwed so I usually stick with what's on the course, and available at the local cornerstores during the rides.

p.

It sounds like you keep the behind the seat cages, which is what I was thinking of doing.

Just wondering how the gatorade in the aero bottle tastes when it's half diluted with water.

If you only drink/eat the stuff that is out on the course, how do you get in enough calories? I can't really swallow the gels out on the course, and I'd have consume a lot of them to get in sufficient quantities.

I use the same fueling strategy as you except that I also carry gel flasks in each jersey pocket. I use Hammer gel because it dissolves in water and I just squirt it into my aero bottle when its full of mostly water.
If there is anything special that I need or think I need for the day, it will be in my aero bottle to start with or in my special needs bags.

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56-11...the only way to fly

When race support is good, and if you are talking IM Wisc. it is, there is no need to weigh yourself down with bottles. I ended up grabbing 2 goos and a bottle of water every station. Sometimes two of each or a gatorade and just kept the bottle between the bars full. I saw more bottles ejected that day from behind the seat than I care to remember. It's a universal scientific fact that behind the seat owners tend to hoard their liquids. You see them at mile 10, full bottles, you see them at mile 50, same funky green juice in both bottles and so on. Unless of course the bottles were launced. Then again they tend to show up at a Tri with a 13 mile bike with two full bottles, maybe left over from last years IM distance event.

One for bourbon, one for scotch, one for beer.

Sorry, couldn't resist (it was only playlist for this morning's trainer ride) ;-)

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

[reply]One for bourbon, one for scotch, one for beer.
[/reply]

There are only four things appropriate to drink in this world, scotch, beer, water and sports drinks. :)

On topic, for well-supported races I use the aero bottle only. I tend to drink just shy of a full bottle every 10 miles, so the refill distance is almost exactly correct. I've been experimenting with carrying a single super-concentrated bottle of E3 behind my seat, and squirting a bit into the top of the aero bottle before refilling. It seems to work okay.

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[reply][.reply]One for bourbon, one for scotch, one for beer.
[./reply]

There are only four things appropriate to drink in this world, scotch, beer, water and sports drinks. :)

On topic, for well-supported races I use the aero bottle only. I tend to drink just shy of a full bottle every 10 miles, so the refill distance is almost exactly correct. I've been experimenting with carrying a single super-concentrated bottle of E3 behind my seat, and squirting a bit into the top of the aero bottle before refilling. It seems to work okay.[/reply]

For football season I move to a Grape Gatorade and Jack Daniels mix...

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I shall never misuse Rex Kwon Do
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice

I have to admit, I don't really like bourbon that much, I am a single malt, beer or wine girl. Don't much care for anything else... ok, once in a while a whack o tequila ;-)

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

My approach for IMC worked great (for me). Aerobottle full of water, with a bit of electrolytes at the start. Frame-mounted large bottle with gels (about 1600 cals as I'm a lightweight athlete, but you could squeeze in 2000) and electrolytes - total about 1500mg sodium (I don't sweat much). At every other aid stations on the bike, I would just grab a water bottle and empty it in my aerobottle (alternately for more electrolytes/calories, you could grab a gatorade every other aid station, guzzle what you can and throw it). I would sip my concentrated bottle mix every 10-15' depending on how my stomach was doing....

As for gels, I used carboom apple-cinnamon - yummy, even after 5h!

Laurent

Minus 10 'cool points' for considering 'cheap' Scotch.. (Jack)

Ardbeg
Laphroig
Macallan
etc.
etc..

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kestrel driver


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bogolight.com (!!!)

For food I don't rely on the course, with the exception of banannas. I do grab the jels but tape 5 jels to my top-tube (1 per hour) and have 2 or 3 bars on me in my jersey (usually 2, plus 1 or 2 in my special needs along with a bagal and some pretzels). I've found at the courses they seem to be more concentrated where they have the food, i.e., it's every 2nd station they have 2x as many gels than having 1/2 as much at every station, same with the food. At IMAZ I remember wanting a bananna but at that station they only had gels and said next station had real food. My point - take it when you can get it but don't rely on it too much except for the liquids.

I do keep the behind the seat cages, but don't rely on them - just there from my training. One year I taped my tubular into it so made use of it that way.

I've done one IM and one 1/2 with 2 bottles: the aerobottle full of water and one large "feed" bottle. My feedbottle had a concentrated carbopro mix and I just dumped my endurolytes capsules into it to save the trouble of taking them (I added soemthing for flavor, but can't remember what now). Every 15 min, I took two good swigs on the feed bottle then I just sipped on my water as I went along to wash it down. Through practice I knew how many calories this would give me and I thought it was the most simple way to go. I felt this allowed me to keep in the aero position the longest without always reaching for bottles and allowed me to rinse my mouth anytime with fresh water.

As a result, all I needed to grab from the aid stations was water to pour in my aerobottle. I should add that my feed schedule included a cliff bar and a few gels throughout the ride to top off my caloric needs and having plain water in the aerobottle allowed me to rinse my mouth of this sticky crap.

I think you should have a waterbottle mounted on the underside of your downtube like touring bikes.

That'd be mega style points.

How about if I convert my top tube into a water bottle? Then I wouldn't even need a cage.

I used the Podiumquest double aero bottle in IMC and it worked out great. I had concentrate Perpetuem in the bottom tank and water (with Nuun) in the top. In each aid station I grabbed a water and poured it in the top tank. At special needs I refilled the bottom tank with Perpetuem concetrate.

I had a frame mounted cage that was sometimes used hold a bottle picked up at the aid stations

Dude your stressing me out about the bottles, go light and just pour gatorade into your aerbottle, also SMU sucks.

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'STICK EM UP PUNK ITS THE FUN LOVING CRIMINAL'

"How about if I convert my top tube into a water bottle?"

That would be frickin sweet, but how would you wash it?

You don't - you take your bike to Demerly's shop 3 weeks before the race for a tune up, and boom - 15-35 "free" watts easy!

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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"How about if I convert my top tube into a water bottle?"

That would be frickin sweet, but how would you wash it?
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I would never wash it. The bacteria would help strenghten my stomach and disgestion. I would help break down the carbo a lot faster. I would never again get slush gut on the bike.

If your frame only has mounts for one bottle then go with an aero-bar mounted bottle in the front and one of the frame. Regardless of what you carry( that's for you to figure out), this is the way to go.

Forget the behind-the-seat. They offer no real advantages.

Know that in just about all IM races there is an aid station every 10 miles or less or every 30 minutes or less. Why carry all of that heavy non aero-stuff. I know that there are those who who will chime in with all of these funky solutions, but it's been my experience that funky solutions also lead to some funky problems. Keep it simple!

Fleck

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog