Hydrate or Die! (Aka- How I came to love my Camelbak)

Due to some setbacks, I wasn't able to take part in any group rides this weekend and was instead resigned to two more low key rides around the Charles. As much as I love my new bike, I had some doubts about its ability to navigate the somewhat unpredictable terrain around the river, so I decided to show some love to my old, hybrid bike. Only thing is, I recently transferred my water bottle holder from my old Trek to my new Giant, leaving me with a bit of a water flow problem- no minor issue since we all know that you either hydrate or you die!

Luckily, I remembered the Camelbak hydration system that Betsy and Sarah so kindly gave me for my birthday. Thus far in my training I have resisted wearing the Camelbak and have even engaged in my fair share of trash talk- convinced that it would detract from my otherwise badass biker look. But this weekend I really didn't see any alternative, so I dug the pack out of my closet and lemme tell ya, my attitude instantly changed.

First of all, I had forgotten that the pack was neon green- automatic bonus points:


Some of you may not be aware of this, but neon green is the Color of the Millennium. This term was coined by myself and my good friend Stephanie Farkas after years of close observation and field research confirmed that neon green was not only the consistent clothing color choice of Jersey shore beachcombers, but also showed no sign whatsoever of decreasing in popularity. Essentially, this Cambelbak gives me instant Jersey street cred (which I can only assume translates to the trails of Massachusetts).

On top of just looking good, the pack was also incredibly functional. Its convenient over-the-shoulder drinking nozzle kept me wonderfully hydrated, even allowing me to drink WHILE biking, something I've never been able to do before since I have yet to master retrieving my water bottle while my legs are in motion. What can I say, it really is the small pleasures.

All in all, I will never ride without my Camelbak again and I take back all of my unfounded trash talk. I was young and naive and I will never preemptively judge biking accessories again.

In other news, my bike short-, ipod band-, bike glove-, and Camelbak-tan lines are developing nicely. I will be quite the sight to see at the beach this summer- that is, if it ever stops raining.