In the pre-dope testing days, it was also common practice to use a small bottle for 'la bomba'. I'm told that they generally used caffeine in this bottle, but I can't confirm or deny that. Perhaps it was a bit more potent stuff. I have a 60's plastic REG bottle with cap and had an alloy 50's REG bottle with cork that were used for this purpose. I'm told that they are very rare nowadays. They are however not at all the size or shape of David's bottle and cage. The 'bomba' bottles were most definitely meant to be carried in the jersey pockets. The seller's auction description did definitely state that the bottle and cage were small sized and seem to be too high a quality to have been children's items, so I would tend to believe his claims. They do not seem to far fetched to me.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
> This dialogue has jiggled my memory a little bit. When I began racing in
the
> early mid 50s, I do remember the smaller size bottles. It seemed that they
> were used as an auxiliary to a single or double standard size cage mounted
on
> the handlebars. They were mounted on the down tube or seat tube. I still
> have a plastic TA flask that was carried in a jersey. Unfortunately I
didn't
> save anything from those days. You used it, disposed of it, and moved on
to
> the newest thing as they came along.
> Dave Staub
> Orange, Ca
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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