Hit me with your best tips for learning to drink while on the bike! HEEEELLLP---by JOVE I'M GETTING IT

Triathlon Forum
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I’m super new to tri and only slightly less new to cycling itself. I am not so worried about my fitness on the bike- I’ve got a great endurance and aerobic base, and am used to long efforts in running, have a relatively high threshold blah blah blah. Obviously I have work to do on the bike but the fitness aspect doesn’t intimidate me. HOWEVER, I have GOT TO LEARN TO DRINK ON THE BIKE. Oh my god. I can barely take a hand off the handlebars. I’ve worked my way up to maybe a second off one bar at a time. I feel very very daunted by what seems like something every other person I see on a bike does like they are breathing. I know I need to practice, but can any of you experienced cyclist toss over your number one tip for even just starting?

------updated today Friday July 19 2019

Just rode about 40 miles, drank both my bottles and took 3 gels- in Central Park, it was like playing frogger- but I DID IT

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LOL - I’m only laughing because I’ve so been there and it’s awful*. You’ll be able to do it too, you just need to practice. I don’t think I have just one tip but a few things:

  • get used to riding with your hand off the handlebars - until you can do that, reaching for a bottle and drinking and putting it back will be near impossible.
  • find a quiet road/parking lot where you can practice - you can stop pedalling and use your legs to counterbalance the weight shift (if that’s what’s freaking you out)
  • keep looking at where you are going
  • ride more in general. As you get used to being on your bike and your handling improves letting go will be less of a big deal.

*My first ever triathlon I got my water bottle out and for the life of me could not get it back in. I actually had to stop at the side of the road to return the bottle to the bottle cage.

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Been there! Actually I still haven’t figured out how to get a sip of water w/o slowing down…
You will be more comfortable with one hand than the other. I’m right handed, but it works better for me to reach w/ my right and hold the bars w/ the left. So I think I slow down a little, leave my left hand on the base bar, and reach with my right. I feel far more stable w/ my hand on the base bar.

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THANK you Scheherezade and Dr Tigerchik- it helps me immensely when I learn that I am not the only one who had to make a great effort to learn what LOOKS like it should be so simple. I will keep you posted. I have an actual skills/handling LESSON to work on it, too, with a coach. Preparation. Like a girl scout.

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Here are my standard Secret Handshake tips for water bottle juggling:

Firstly, if you cannot ride no-handed (road bike only!) it may be that your position on the bike is unbalanced to begin with (cue “bike fit” discussion here). Being balanced on the bike is crucial for everything let alone drinking. For tri bikes it is always best to use a front hydration system with a straw.

Being able to perform simple functions single or no handed is a little bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach; being able to dig that gel out of your rear pocket without going into a ditch is a good thing. Advanced fun like Putting on a Rain Jacket without Stopping, or unwrapping that slightly brown banana is also a good thing. Safety first, so practicing in the grass is a good way to start.

Oftentimes we ladies are on smaller frames - let’s say 51cm and smaller? Bottle cages that allow you to pull it out to the side, rather than ‘up’ is helpful. Xlab, Topeak, Arundel and a number of other brands make these and offer either Left or Right side open options.

Use “regular” size 21oz/500ml water bottles, not the extra tall ones (750ml or larger than 22oz). You will not die without those 6oz of fluid, but you should have two bottle cages anyway and not rely upon a single 750ml bottle for your needs. Rule of thumb is 600ml of fluid per hour at temperatures up to 75degrees. Add 100ml per hour over 75degrees. This is an old school rule but I am old school…

Lets assume, though, that you are balanced, how to do this eloquently? Especially on smaller frames.

Pro tip#1: Pull from the seat tube cage position, not the down tube cage. I may have to post a video, but to briefely describe how to do this:
Left hand on tops of bar - not on the shifter hoods
Take Right hand and palm down, “backhand” the water bottle and pull straight up and to the right side of the top tube. Dont pull sideways. You are reaching between your knee/leg, running your forearm against the top tube back towards the seat tube…
When you’ve pulled the bottle up enough rotate your wrist so that you have turned the nozzle upside down - bring up to your face and drink!

Practice in the hallway or on a trainer - you should be able to do this without looking down, and keeping your feet moving. Practice practice so that it becomes without thinking. without rubbing head and patting belly…you know, like riding a bike!

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ABarnes- THANK YOU! I am relatively tall (5’8.5") and ride a 54" Trek Lexa SLX that we got used (I think it’s from 2012).
I think I need an actual bike fit process. My decades-a-cyclist husband was relatively insistent I just need to practice. Fair enough, but I feel like I am putting so much weight in my hands- my arms are quite LONG, so this is kind of a mystery to me. I can’t tell if maybe my saddle is dumping me forward?? That’s kind of what it feels like…Anywho, everything you said makes sense, as per regular-sized bottles, and which one and how to reach, and I do have two cages. I SHOULD also have great balance, as I am a Pilates teacher (for 18 years now) - my theory isn’t playing out well on the bike. I have a lesson upcoming face to face with a skills teacher (who is awesome, anyone in NYC ask me for the reco, she’s fantastic) and thank goodness, because my practice on my own has not felt productive. In fact it kind of leaves me almost in tears.

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My general opinion is that frame geometry has become too steep across all sizes. Compound this with the rider sitting even steeper to solve a ‘reach’ issue = hand pressure, saddle pressure, etc.

Feel free to pm me your measurements, but let me guess where you are right now:

your saddle ‘setback’ from the bottom bracket is about 4cm (distance to nose of saddle from vertical line bisecting bottom bracket)

You are on 172.5 cranks. Your saddle height is +/-680mm

You have a short/wide saddle with a cutout, yet try to sit as far back as possible on the saddle?

Bike setup measurement points.jpg

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This is incredibly thoughtful and helpful of you, ABarnes, thank you. I’m going to take a closer look. (First thing I took was a NAP, as every bone in my body was telling me to lie down and for the first time in a while, I listened.)

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http://i64.tinypic.com/2vv1kjs.jpg
.

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Before I noticed all the beer, I noticed the denim. OUCH.

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Before I noticed all the beer, I noticed the denim. OUCH.

Tassels on the boots next to the chain…

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Drivetrain fringe!

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UPDATE: Thanks for the feedbacks, tips, and comedic photoessays. I actually had a great skills/handling lesson (second one so far) today with a most excellent coach (Lisa Mazzola at Art of Cycling) in NYC and made leaps and bounds in tight turns, riding one handed, and GRABBING THE DAMN WATER BOTTLES. So I highly recommend her if you are seeking coaching and are in the NYC area. And ABarnes, I haven’t looked more deeply in to my bike fit but I am working with a coach who is also a fitter and we are going to evaluate that. THANK YOU!!

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good job! keep up the good work!

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My bullet bottle with a straw helps me immensely you don’t have to take your hands off at all!