merlinextraligh

Came across a curious practice that I have never seen anywhere else. The local bike club teaches riders in a paceline to signal when they are taking a drink from their water bottle.

It's a manuever similar to "presenting arms". You stick your right hand straight out to the side, then from there reach down grab the bottle, extend your arm to the side with the bottle, presenting the bottle to the group, then you drink. Then you put the bottle out to the side again, and from there replace it in the cage.

Does anyone else anywhere else do this? Presumably the purpose is to signal the riders behind you that you're drinking and therefore may slow or wobble.

Seems rediculous to me. First if you can't maintain your line and position in the paceline while drinking, then don't; wait until you're at the back. Second, if drinking and riding is a challenge for you, the whole manuever of "presenting bottles" is only going to make it harder.

PiLigand

Haha! I first got the image of riding with a PBR in hand.

It seems like it could be a good idea, but I agree with you: this doesn't seem to be the best approach. Maybe something less obtrusive?

chaadster

I did it once; knocked the guy right next to me in the recovery line in the ribs, and he went down, taking half the group with him.

I'm just kidding, but are you??

bt

drink at the back of the line only....

chaadster

Like the perpendicular elbow and bottle in the mouth?

merlinextraligh

No. I know this sounds like a parody thread of the Hand Signal to stop thread, but I'm serious. A good number of North Florida Bicycle Club riders do this, and they've told me the club leaders trained them to do so.

Nick Bain

this.

Drinking at the front or in the gaining line is the most assinine, selfish, and detrimental endeavor in the world; unless you are bernard hinault or something. I almost got taken out by some nutsack who tried to drink at the front then dropped his waterbottle in front of me. Know how to pace yourself and drink appropriatly, if you can't then either suffer or get dropped instead of infecting the group with you bad habits.

Lazyass

That club should require everyone to have bells on their bikes. Ring the bell when you're drinking. Or scream a warning at the top of your lungs.

canam73

Maybe you guys should get Camelbaks.

merlinextraligh

Or just avoid NFBC rides

StanSeven

What's the hand signal for taking a sip from Camelbak?

Bob Ross

^^^this


and ^^^this.

hairnet

accidents waiting to happen

BenPS

I think the signal should be reaching for your water bottle.


Then after you've signaled, you can reach for your bottle.

FLvector

Never seen or heard of this one. Some groups have some peculiar rituals that are meant to improve safety, but actually do the opposite. If you can't take a drink without holding your line and maintaining speed, then wait till you get to the back so you only hurt yourself.

thump55

We have a guy in our group that needs a hand signal for "I am about to scratch my junk".

velociraptor

I like to stop my bike in the middle of the road and then announce at the top of my lungs, "Hear ye! Hear ye! I have hereto paused to quench my most unfortunate thirst by partaking of this, the glorious bidon of Antioch! Be ye ware to cease your onward travels and look on with great awe and adulation!"

chaadster

Sounds like it's organized by members of the Florida Division of Elections!!

MikeyBoyAz

Do they have a hand signal for chucking your bottle after it's empty on a charity ride? Something like: Hold up empty bottle, shake it to signal it is without useful fluid, make a football long pass movement with your arm and then just let it fall just behind your back wheel to the peril of every rider behind you?

The other hand signal they should make is "Oops, I just dropped my full bottle because I don't know how to remove a bottle from the cage while pedaling..." It goes like this: Drop bottle while fumbling it out of the cage, look back and wobble around on your bike yelling anything unimportant EXCEPT "Dropped Bottle."

Bandera

Not seems ridiculous, is ridiculous.

Is this an effort to make simply taking a drink as inefficient, ponderous and dangerous as possible?

-Bandera

Pb_Okole

How about a whole system of rings:
1 Ring - drinking
2 Rings - pulling shorts out of butt
3 rings - sweat in my eyes
4 rings - pot hole
5 rings - pulling off the front
6 rings - dog ahead
7 rings - car up
8 rings - car back


Everybody must have a bell and use the above system. This would make for a most tranquil riding environment. As bad as this sounds, it wouldn't be any worse than some rides where they are yelling at every possible potential obstacle.

himespau 

Did a club leader get taken out by a dropped bottle in the past and overreact?

himespau 

And each rider has to listen to what the rider ahead of them did and repeat it to confirm they got the message and pass it back to the next person in line. Kind of like the "telephone" game from when we were kids.

Darth Lefty 

Right turn, Clyde!

Also, my first impulse would be to follow it up to this point...

And then give the bottle a good squeeze, and giggle.

Campag4life

Merlin,
Florida is hot and we drink a lot of water here. I haven't heard of that convention or rule.
I was taught to always step laterally out of the line if needing to drink...and then drop to the back if the line moves up. Aside from keeping pace, one just doesn't have the braking control of the bike with one hand when drinking. That said, I don't always comply and sometimes drink when in line but don't when pulling as a rule.