You don't need as much water in the winter as in the summer, but it's
at least as important to get enough. Dehydration lowers your heat
production, and low blood volume reduces your ability to distribute
heat.

It's much harder to remember to keep sipping a half-frozen beverage
than it is to remember to sip often when you are sweating like a
faucet, so dehydration may actually be more likely in cold weather.

Filling the bottle with a boiling beverage sounds like a good idea --
but before the beverage is cool enough to be safe to sip, the valve
freezes and you can't get at it.

Carry only one bottle in winter; a second bottle will freeze before
you finish the first one. If there are no refilling stops, carry the
extra in your pannier, well wrapped. Starting with hot water can
help. I've found Rubbermaid's square quart bottles good for carrying
water and ice in the summer; I can no longer ride far enough to need
back-up water in the winter, so I haven't tested them for carrying
warm drinks. A large container from which you re-fill your bottle
will freeze less than spare bottles, and you don't have to worry about
frozen valves.

Be sure the bottle is tipped up when you drink, so that ice floats
away from the valve. Don't squeeze the bottle or suck on it; any ice
near the valve will be carried into it. Blow air into the bottle and
let the water flow out This moves ice away from the valve and may
melt a molecule of ice.

Drink frequently to keep the valve open.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.