Gear: water bottle

One decision I made decades ago but didn't explicitly share here was how much plastic tasting water is nasty. Plastic water bottles were one of the first bicycle specific accessories I bought as a young rider. I was not a big drinker of the water but I liked to make sure I had it out on the road. I was a minimalist in gear on the road until I needed something and got stuck. Warm plastic tasting water and a tube repair kit were essentials even before I got a helmet.

After getting the water bottle I got a frame holder for it. Before the frame holder I carried the water bottle in a bag on my back. I tried putting ice in the bottle but the water turned warm pretty quickly. I stopped using the water bottle because it just tasted nasty, especially when warm. I did shorter rides. Eventually I got enough regular income that I upgraded to an insulated plastic water bottle. I bought a few of these and spent time adding ice to cold water but it still didn't last too long. I found a solution to the bad taste of plastic bottles finally about 10 years ago. I now use stainless steel water bottles.