bike-water axis

Water... the real fuel that drives a long distance
ride. You get a love-hate relationship with the watery
stuff. Love because... well, thirst! Hate because the
stuff is HEAVY, and as much as you need it, you begin
to resent carrying it after a while. I mean, water
weights almost as much as you do, pound for pound, yet
it doesn't really DO anything, not the way your
sleeping bag swaddles you, or your iPod keeps your
brain from frying. Water is the substance you always
wish you had more of on the bike yet you never seem to
drink it as often as you should. The gold standard of
hydration is urine-- if you're peeing a couple times a
day, you know you're hydratin' ok. That's why people
like Camelbacks, they make sipping effortless:
think-drink, I call it. But I'm a purist. I like the
gummy, clunky, gotta reach down fer it, old fashioned
bike water bottle. Plus they help you keep mental tabs
on your reserves. The more you carry, the more secure
you feel. The pace of the ride goes from water stop to
water stop. If you find yourself not filling up at a
water stop because you have plenty left over, you feel
annoyed. On the other hand, nothing spells panic like
having swigged your last ounce with miles and miles
ahead of you to the next town, and nothing but
shimmering heat mirages taunting you! You can
literally be driven to drinking putrid unfiltered
ditch water by thirst desperation. Which is why it's a
good idea to bring a water filter. Life on the road
turns you into an H2O connoisseur. You judge the
delightfulness of every small town park you rest at
primarily by the slakeworthiness of its drinking
fountain and the quality of its shade. Ahhh, small
town parks. And elementary schools. The oases of the FLT!