How Can I Keep Drinks Hot on a Cold Ride?
Question: I love to ride in the winter but sure wish I could have something hot to drink about an hour out. My bottles freeze even if I start with them filled with hot tea. What are my options? — Jane A.
RBR Replies: The best option is to plan your ride to include a convenience store or coffee shop at the halfway point. Buy a steaming latte or hot tea and sip it in the warmth of the store. Mid-ride tea breaks are an English club ride tradition.
If your route doesn’t have such civilized pleasures, you’ll have to tote your own hot drink. An insulated bottle (Camelbak and Polar both make them) works fine in summer to keep cold drinks cold, but it won’t keep hot drinks sufficiently hot very long in temperatures below about 35 degrees.
Another possibility is a back-mounted hydration pack worn under your jacket so body heat will keep it from freezing. But again, liquid can turn to ice in the nozzle or hose. You may need to slip on a section of pipe insulation.
Another option is a Thermos bottle. These work better, but when they’re nestled in your bottle cage catching cold wind, they still won’t keep your drink hot for long. You may have better luck carrying it in an insulated rack trunk if you don’t mind stopping for a moment when you want to drink.
Some riders wear a jersey under their winter jacket and carry the bottle in the middle rear pocket. It’s out of the wind, gets insulation from the clothing and your body heat helps, too.
I’m a tea drinker. In cold weather, I use a Thermos brand insulated thermos bottle, the size made to carry in a brief case. I added a insulates sleeve around it, but sock would work. II don’t ride when it gets below 30 degrees, but it keeps tea hot for several hours even in those temps. It will fit in my bottle cage, but I often carry in the draw string sports bag I carry on my back.
we use a stainless-steel water bottle double walled, i fill with boiling water then let it warm for a half hour then make our hot chocolate usually the favorite then pour out the hot water the bottle is nice an hot now, I like to think of it as charging the thermos it keeps us satisfied to battle the cold, as a Florida resident , it does get cold for us !!!!
BIVO for the WIN! Insulated metal bottles that fit in your bottle cage and come in gorgeous colors. I heat liquid to no more than 150F to guard against too hot liquid as the flow is FAST. Love these bottles.
I have several now. One is double insulated that keeps my drinks hot or cold. The only trouble is I can get a brain freeze when it has ice in the drink. I haven’t used it for hot stuff much as I live on Maui!
Yes! Bivo was reviewed here not too long ago, so we got a couple & they are very good at preserving the temperature of the liquid inside. We don’t have serious cold here, but have had some pretty hot days. The ice is still there even after a ride that goes for hours.
Mu go-to bottle for this is my Zojirushi 500 ml insulated thermos, which fits in a jersey pocket or fanny pack.
I have a heavy duty steel thermos that weighs a ton but it keeps things hot in the winter cold. (also: it requires me to carry it a camelbak or small backpack)
Cross-country skiers have experience with this, can be worth searching out.
A regular thermos but carry it inside inside a camelbak, so you have to stop to drink from it, which isn’t a bad idea in freezing temperatures. Also, pre-heat the thermos with boiling water.
I don’t think you need a $50 bottle, all you do need is a surgical stainless steel double insulated bottle. You can buy a Myforest triple insulated surgical stainless-steel bottle for $28 on Amazon. But the big no no is not to use any type of plastic bottle, insulated or not, to hold hot drinks, they’re fine for cold drinks, just not good for hot because the plastic will leach chemicals into the liquid when exposed to high heat.
With the Stainless steel bottles, it is a good idea, as someone mentioned, to preheat the bottle with boiling water for about 15 minutes before dumping it out and putting in your hot liquid.