Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

SprintAce
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Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby SprintAce » Wed May 10, 2017 10:52 am

Can someone enlighten me on why, and the origins of, people reaching for their bottle, extending their arm out and then drinking? Sometimes they repeat the move in reverse post drinking. In my 25 years of road biking incl. 20 years club racing I cannot work out why make a simple task more complex.

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TonyMax
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby TonyMax » Wed May 10, 2017 11:10 am

So that you can see (if you are behind) that the rider has a hand off the bars (and away from the brakes)?

Too much information *can* be better than not enough.
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jules21
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby jules21 » Wed May 10, 2017 11:23 am

I don't understand. what do you mean 'extending their arm out'? to the side? in front? you've got to reach for the bidon, it's not going rise up of its own volition :mrgreen:

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TonyMax
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby TonyMax » Wed May 10, 2017 2:33 pm

To the side, holding it out to the side before lifting it to drink from. To me it's always been about lifting it out of the cage, holding it out to show those behind I'm going to have a drink, drinking, then putting it back. If you lift a bottle out of the cage and straight to your mouth it's not always seen by the riders behind you.
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jules21
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby jules21 » Wed May 10, 2017 3:16 pm

I can't immediately think of why it's important for the rider behind to know you're drinking. It's more important for the rider in front, who doesn't want you to ride into the back of them while your hands are off the brakes, but they can't see you gesticulating behind them.

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Derny Driver
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby Derny Driver » Wed May 10, 2017 3:27 pm

In my years of racing and going to big races and tours, Ive never seen it done.
Some johnson probably did it to stretch his arm muscles one day and then everyone else thought it was an etiquette thing. And now you can show how pro you are by doing it.
I must try it sometime.
Would it matter if I ride by myself I wonder?

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silentC
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby silentC » Wed May 10, 2017 3:33 pm

This is how it should be done:

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jules21
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby jules21 » Wed May 10, 2017 3:48 pm

on the other hand, I have been ticked off for riding no hands and eating in a bunch during a race. I guess with some justification

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DavidS
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby DavidS » Wed May 10, 2017 10:42 pm

silentC wrote:This is how it should be done:

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That should be in the Cycle Chic thread ;)

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AUbicycles
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby AUbicycles » Fri May 12, 2017 6:34 am

The purpose is, I feel, very straight forward. In a tight bunch when you take a drink it can influence your focus handling. You may ever-so-slightly slow and increase the gap in front and potentially have a bit more sideways movement. Signaling makes other riders around you more aware and alert.

When I see a rider going to drink, I ride more aware and increase the gap slightly. In racing, bike control and handling tends to be a bigger problem in lower grades where skills may be less developed.

In essence it is basic courtesy and letting riders around you know of your intentions. In tight knit bunch riding and racing in the peloton, stupid errors cause accidents and safer riding in bunches relies on communication - much of it is subtle but some of it needs to be direct.
Cycling is in my BNA

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g-boaf
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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby g-boaf » Fri May 12, 2017 8:35 am

Derny Driver wrote:In my years of racing and going to big races and tours, Ive never seen it done.
Some johnson probably did it to stretch his arm muscles one day and then everyone else thought it was an etiquette thing. And now you can show how pro you are by doing it.
I must try it sometime.
Would it matter if I ride by myself I wonder?

I also can't think of ever seeing that.

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Re: Drinking from a bidon in bunch rides

Postby fat and old » Mon May 15, 2017 2:06 pm

Maybe in their attempt to be pro and drink from bidon over hand they need to faff about rotating it to achieve the look. And so forth returning bidon to cage? Thus looking less than pro

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