Drinking and Cycling

On our century ride Saturday, at mile 58 in the small quaint town of Midway, Kentucky, I'm cruising through town looking for the lunch stop. There's a serious of sidewalk cafes where I see a ton of cyclists... I'm a bit confused, so I ask "is this where the lunch stop is?"

The response: "No, this is the beer stop":eek:

In Evansville, there is a group called "Tour de Tavern"....I'll let you guess where the rest stops are...:o

Now, I'm conservative, but not prudish...but I simply can't see the point...

So, here's the question:

Do you or don't you....drink and ride?

I don't drink and ride, but maybe it's the carbs in the beer?

Karen in Boise

Beer is traditional for apres ride in the circles I have ridden in. There is usually still a ride to get home after the beer stop, but that's not really drinking and riding, is it? :eek:

H&B
~T~

I'm all for a crisp beer after the ride. Nummy.

However, last time I tried to ride home after a few beers, well, I didn't make it. Granted, it's a good 600ft climb, but my motivation and coordination were just toasted. And somehow, walking in the cleats seemed easier than trying to keep the bike upright.

I've heard you can get issued a DUI while on the bike too. Maybe it's dependent on where you are, but to be honest, I just wanted to get HOME and biking was the last thing I wanted to do!

-- gnat!

I don't see the difference between cycling or driving under the influence. I doubt there were any Mensa members in that group.

I have enough time of it just staying upright and forward.

Alcohol is a powerful diuretic. I can't imagine being able to drink and exercise at the same time. There were lots of people on the tour I just did who would drink during the ride and they did just fine--but some of them confessed that they did suffer for it. I sure wouldn't do it.

Some of the folks in my bike club like their beer and wine but I rarely see them having ANY alcohol at all until the end of the ride.

YOu can definitely get a ticket for DUI on a bike.

I am not one to drink and ride(i don't really drink at all anymore,would rather eat those calories)..
But back when I was in college we would bike to happy hour and then bike home, always interesting! and if I remember right, we didn't do it to many times after the first time or two.

But on another note, what about those wine tours in Italy and Napa,CA? Where you bike from winery to winery... Wouldn't stopping for a beer be essentially the same thing?

I like to ride then drink . . . but not drink and ride. That's just crazy.

Don't you usually spit out the wine when wine tasting?

Karen

A glass of beer or wine in the middle of a casual ride is fine with me. A longer ride or one which we are just going all out, we usually don't stop anyway, or we'll bring our lunch. If we were touring i'd imagine a single drink would be fine and rather enjoyable along with lunch.

More than that, no.

Apres event ride is pretty common on some group rides I have done - but that's when no more riding is planned until the next day. I've never ridden while drinking or ever seen it done, to my knowledge.
I did ride (once) with a guy who admitted to being stoned at the time. Funny...we had to stop at a convenience mart for Reeses' peanut butter cups. Go figure.
Apres ski beers are pretty common, too. I once told a friend that I didn't like to drink after skiing, "because it goes right to my head." He looked at me kind of funny and said "Duh. That's the whole point!"
Ah, well. Different strokes.....

Some people like to drink. A man often processes alcohol quite well, and can have a beer (or two) and be safe to ride or drive after around an hour. Someone who doesn't metabolize alcohol as well (like most women, and some men) can't do that. A 2 hour wait usually will be fine, or just skip the alcohol.

I wouldn't do a "tour de tavern" or something like that. Not cause I don't like beer, because I do. My body doesn't handle alcohol well, and I do need a 2 hour recovery after a beer (or to drink my beer veeeeeery slowly). Sometimes I need more than that, especially if the beer is a pretty stiff style. So unless the places are prepared to serve me tasting amounts only, I can't do that kind of ride. But I'm not going to be upset if someone with a better alcohol metabolism has fun with a ride like that. Little envious maybe :)

Last year the only serious injury on the RSVP (Ride Seattle to Vancouver (canada) and Party) was when we got to Vancouver and a a drunken local bicyclist without a helmet crashed into a ride participant and broke the guy's ankle.
The participant RODE the last 4 miles in on one foot!

Heck, I can crash just fine without a drink, I could imagine what I would do if I did drink. Ugh, I can't imagine drinking and then getting on the bike.
I do admit also though, like yesterday, a nice cold one in a frosty mug sure was nice!!!!

This is a subject that has often been a topic in my house. On both of the tours we did, the other participants not only drank ( a lot) at the lunch stops, but also drank copious amounts at the dinners. On the last day of my tour in Austria, several did a "beer tasting" crawl on the bike path.
My husband and I were like social outcasts. Now, I drink, but I see drinking and riding as the same as drinking and driving. I couldn't ride after one glass of wine. Plus, drinking is a horrible dehydrator for me. The next morning I have to over hydrate just to make up for 1-2 glasses of wine. So these people were able to deal with all of that and ride 30-50 miles a day on huge climbs.

We did not drink at least 2 of the 6 nights and were always the first to go to bed. I need sleep, good food and proper hydration to do streneuous riding. Perhaps I'm a wimp, but our friends we ride with all of the time are even worse.

I'm not very keen on alcohol although I do like an occasional glass of wine so long as I'm not planning on driving or cycling. Just one thing. If I'm ever lucky enough to visit some of you in the future...please...keep me away from red wine. For some reason, once I start drinking red wine I just keep drinking it until I go splat. Doesn't happen with white wine, just red:o

Beer or wine make me sleepy. While I can appreciate the idea of a frosty mug of beer on a hot ride, I can't imagine doing anything after that mug except taking a nap!

I've certainly gone wine tasting on my bike. We used to take our mtbs over to the Napa Valley during crush (way before the commercial tours). Only way to do it when everyone else is in bumper to bumper traffic. However, we truly taste, we do not drink.

I just let people be. If they are drinking no more than they can metabolize, it's up to them. RUI or DUI, it's all the same.

None for me. I don't like the stuff, need all my senses to stay upright, and rather get my calories with other good food and drink.