Subject: RE: Water Bottle Handoff In most races I have done (at least bigger HIM ) there is a "trash zone" when you can just throw your discarded bottles roadside and volunteers will pick them up. You can also pick up a fresh bottle in the zone. Discarding bottles outside this zone is usually considered a "littering" violation and you can be penalized; it is also poor sportsmanship and not very nice to the community where the race is being held.
Depending on your bike handling skills and the skills of the volunteers, often you may not need to stop to accomplish this. I just did a HIM where owing to being ill before the race, I needed more fluids than usual and had to replace much of my normal portable race nutrition with bananas handed out on course, and I made it through without actually having to stop at an aid station. It helps to slow down or speed up to try to not get to the station in a large group of riders, slow down as you ride through, and call out what you need so the volunteer with the right stuff can approach you for the handoff.
So basically, if you are replacing a bottle, get out off aero and slow down as you enter the aid station, throw the old bottle right as you enter the zone; call out what you need, and take it with one hand from the volunteer who steps out. It depends on the race--if they are handing out water in normal bottles (not bike bottles--this is often the case at bigger IM events and most in SE Asia ), you can just squeeze the water into the top of most handlebar-mounted aerobottles, and discard the plastic bottle without stopping. Edited by Hot Runner 2017-09-11 6:56 AM
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