skyzo

I've only been on a few short tours now (2-3 days), and usually just buy water from a store when I need it, but on a longer tour that could get expensive, buying water 4-5 times a day. Im trying to figure out all these things before I head off on my first big tour in a couple months. What do you guys do to get water? Just ask for a fill-up at a store, water from a bathroom, etc?
Thanks

fietsbob

where are you going?

oban_kobi

Both of those, streams (with proper treatment), peoples houses if you're feeling brave and don't look like a serial killer.

xyzzy834

All of the above.

I may buy a Gatorade or ten, but I don't think I've ever paid for water on a trip. I usually stay in campgrounds with potable water supply. That gets me started in the morning. Whenever I stop, I usually ask if I can fill my water bottles. I've never been turned down.

If I was getting low and needed to fill up at a house, I'd knock on the door and ask. It would be a hard person that wouldn't allow me to take a couple of bottles of water from their outdoor faucet.

kayakdiver

I tend to fill up in restrooms or just ask anyone in a small store if i can fill up from the soda machine(water thingy) since it's filtered. Never had anyone say no. I just smile and ask nicely. Same goes for out in the middle of wherever... see someone outside and ask if i can fill up my bottles.. never go a no either.

safariofthemind

If you are where water outdoors is plentiful, you can use a microfilter and a UV pen to sterilize the water. REI and other vendors have a nice selection. In a pinch I've even filled up from a puddle (after running the water through an old t shirt and letting it settle for a while) with these filters with no ill effects. Great for camping and foreign travel too. https://www.rei.com/category/4500030

Thulsadoom

I know the weight weenies will love this one but:

I generally carry four 33 oz. Zefal Magnum bottles. I keep two in the bottle cages and two spares stashed in the rear pockets of my pans. I buy a gallon of drinking water at a store and fill all four bottles, usually in the morning. That's enough water to last all day and sometimes enough for coffee and cooking. A regular gallon of water only costs a buck or so, so I spend a dollar or less a day for water.

Sure, a gallon of water costs 8 pounds or so. But as the day progresses my cache of water gets lower and lighter.

Machka 

Here in Australia, most towns have at least one public toilet. When you roll into town, look for the little blue signs that indicate where the toilet is located.

Occasionally we'll come across a toilet that has a sign up that the water is not for drinking purposes, but most of the time it is OK.

staehpj1

OK, I'll assume the US since my touring experience is limited to there...

I don't think I have ever been turned down when asking to fill up bottles with water AND ice from the soda fountain. I also have never been denied the use of the bathroom sinks with the exception of a very few places that said they did not have a public bathroom. I never ask without buying something first though.

I have had folks offer their own supply of bottled water in a few places that were either without running water or without palatable running water.

I have bought bottled water but only where the local water tasted really bad.

In the Sierras I carried a filter since it was often a long ways between tap water sources, but ice cold mountain streams were frequent.

I have not yet needed to knock on a door to get water from someones house, but have asked a couple times if they were already in the yard and they were always hospitable.

I love to use remaining snow on mountain passes to fill bottles and have cold water as a result.

A couple times I have had folks pull off on 100+ F days to offer an ice cold bottle.

Gotte

Here in the UK there's no problem in getting water. You take your bike out of the garage, and sure enough after about half an hour there'll be a ready supply coming down.

truman

I usually fill up at publicly accessible spigots and convenience store soda fountains.

I'll note that I ran across a couple of small villages in New Mexico and Colorado where the municipal water supply was unfit for drinking and had to buy water.

Other than that, I've filtered water from streams, begged it from folks working in their yards, used the hose spigots on churches and city halls and filled up in restaurant kitchens. I even found an almost-full 1 liter bottle on the side of the road on a hot day, 10 miles after I'd run my bottles dry. I said a little prayer of sincere thanks as I downed it. Best. Water. Ever.

One caution is self-treating and drinking water from streams near golf courses and agricultural areas. I fear that these sources may have really high concentrations of fertilizers and pesticides. My prefilter and Steripen would have no effect on this, so I avoid them.

indyfabz

Crossing the country west to east, something stuck out at us somewhere in New York state. It was a "Restrooms for Customers Only" sign. It was the first one we saw one in over two months. Prior to that, it was "Sure! No problem. It's back there to your left." And many times owners of stores and bars would offer to put ice in our bottles on hot days. Buying something is a good way to thank them and it spreads good will.

My favortie water memory is from rural IL. It over 100 degrees one Saturday. A few of us saw a school that was having an extracuricular class. We pulled in to ask for water. The teacher asked us if we would talk to her class about who we were and what we were doing so the kids could get a feeling for all the opportunities that were out there in the world for them. When we were done, the teacher asked us for the general delivery address of our next rest day. When we got to Bowling Green, OH, waiting for us was a manilla envelope filled with thank you letters from the kids.

You never know what might happen if you just ask.

Cyclebum

One of my fav memories is of two ladies waiting in a red pickup at the top of a pass in Arizona as I finished a long, hot climb. "You ok?" the driver ask. "I guess" I answered. "Any chance you got some spare water?" She reached in the back and pulled out a liter bottle from the ice chest.

It'll all work out.

vik 

Unless you are touring somewhere remote free potable water shouldn't be hard to find. The other option is gas stations often have local water in gallon jugs for a much lower cost than the smaller name brand water options.

skyzo

Thanks for all the replies guys! Sorry, I dont know how I forgot to mention where I'll be touring, its the Pacific coast route, so there are towns pretty much everywhere. I like the idea of the soda fountain filling up. I have no problem buying some food if they will let me fill up.

MichaelW

Most spa towns or mineral water source towns have the stuff flowing free from a pipe in the town centre.
I always used to fill up for free when passing through Malvern. A supermarket not 50m from the source was selling bottles of mineral water from all over the world at the usual high prices.

Are there any spa towns in USA. I know there are hot springs in the Rockies but the water tends to be very sulphurous. Ive had other wild spring water that tasted like rust.
In wet mountain regions, springs can flow from cliff sides and they are usually OK to drink.

staehpj1

I doubt availability of free water will be a problem on the pacific coast. I usually make it a point to have my purchases in my hand when I ask.

I also doubt that water quality will be an issue on the pacific coast. If you tour elsewhere it is a good idea to sample some of the water before leaving town. I know that we found water in some places to be absolutely unfit to drink. Parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado come to mind. Remember that if it tastes bad when cold it will taste awful when hot.

One other tip, be careful not to accidentally buy distilled water. I will only make that mistake once it was terrible. Thank god we had some gator aid powder or I don't think I could have stomached it.

Louis

I was refused free water once by a stern old Amishman. He was behind the counter of a general store in Ohio Amish country. When I asked if I could fill my bottles, he pointed to the rear of the store and told me that he sells water. I had to buy a full gallon.

So much for Amish Hospitality.

dubois

I have never asked a random person for water. Filling up at gas stations / grocery stores and parks always works out.

Tansy

I refill most often at public spigots. Make sure to look around the supports of any picnic shelters you see - pretty often I see parks with no water fountain, but there will be a spigot down by the ground somewhere for picnic shelter renters to use. Beaches will often have water to rinse off your feet with. Park maintenance buildings may have have a spigot on an outside wall. Keep an eye out for public or community gardens, too, but these are the only places I've seen where the spigot has on several occasions been locked. Even if there is no water in a park, there may be people, and if they start asking about your bike or trip, mention you're looking for water and see what happens.

If you run across a town with a big national grocery store, those are great places to walk in and refill your water in the bathroom without anyone noticing or caring. Small groceries or gas station are my last resort because if I do run across sometime who refuses me water, I'll run it over in my head all day(Why would they do that? Is there something wrong with me? do I look too scruffy? Homeless? Do people come in here and demand free water rudely?). When I do, I'll usually buy a snickers bar or something, then ask if I can refill my water on the way out. Depends on rather the cashier seems approachable or not.

Also, anytime you fill up your bottles, try to resist taking a big gulp of it. Smell it and taste a little first. Non-potable water spigots should be marked, but they're not always. Even if they are marked as safe, you never really know - I just read a journal in which a cyclist took a big swag of bleach water at a state park, because a maintenance worker had just flushed out the pipes and left no warning of it.

All in all, Though, yeah - I'd agree it does just work out. I've never ran out of water. One time I was on my last bottle of hot sun-baked water and a bit worried about where I'd get the next. I came across a landing on a river, and stopped to cool off and rest. I didn't have a filter, and could not drink the water, but while I was soaking in it, a family came by in canoes and offered me some ice water from their cooler

eofelis 

I have asked random folks for water and they have always been happy to give me some. One time we went up to a house in a tiny town and asked for water from the spigot, they were happy to give us some. Another time I flagged down a motorist in the middle of nowhere, she was very happy to give us some bottles that she had in her trunk. We camped at a rest stop in a remote area (only flat spot around) and when some cars stopped to see the view we asked if they had some spare water. One guy was very happy to help us, as someone had helped him out on his road trip a few days before.

gamecock

Of course la Boeuf (la beef) gets his water from a filthy hoof print, and if Rooster Cogburn ever meets a "Texas waddy" who hasn't......(from True Grit, both old and new).

fietsbob

Oregon Coast, no problems, like our British friend, It's regularly coming out of the Sky.

A stop at one of the Taverns along the way has always gotten me potable water..

sometimes I enjoy the potable ethanol in the same establishment.

pdlamb

Just to add to this, be careful that the fountain tap you use isn't soda water. I made that mistake in Kansas (exactly once, mind you). We could stomach it, but only 75% of our bottles were water. We ran low.

It worked out, though, as all the water shortages I've faced did. In this case we stopped at a grain elevator, and got a 15 minute impromptu lecture on wheat farming and processing, as well as water. One of the more educational quarter hours of the trip, and some of the best tasting water!

prathmann

Yes, water shouldn't be a problem along the Pacific Coast bike route, but you may encounter an occasional smaller campsite without potable water. On a recent trip I stopped at Kirk Creek campground (in the Big Sur area) and they had signs on the water taps that it should be treated and that was also the case at some of the camps in Pt. Reyes (MTB accessible). But in general water taps with good potable water are plentiful.

The soda fountains at fast food places/convenience stores/gas stations are excellent since you can usually get ice in addition to water. A water bottle filled with ice will stay frozen for a long time when packed inside the insulation provided by a full pannier bag and can provide refrigeration for perishable food along the way. I wrap the bottle with the ice in plastic bags to protect against possible spills.