Beer and cycling

[zaskar]

I use to drink beer before i got serious about cycling. well today is friday and i have a 1 hour mountain time trial sunday morning.
if i drink say 3-6 beers today will it have a negative affect on my performance sunday am?? or how long does it take alcohol to get out of system? thanks.

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by zaskar
I use to drink beer before i got serious about cycling. well today is friday and i have a 1 hour mountain time trial sunday morning.
if i drink say 3-6 beers today will it have a negative affect on my performance sunday am?? or how long does it take alcohol to get out of system? thanks.

How did I miss this thread? 2 of my favourite pastimes - Beer-drinking AND drinking Beer! Oh, wow, and cycling, too!
Seriously, though, Friday is not Friday if you don't drink beer. That is why they invented Friday's (and also why they invented beer). I hope you didn't wait until now to find this out.
Drinking beer before you race helps you to settle down, provides all the nutritional necessities, rehydrates you, provides you with "the vision" (sometimes even double) and makes you the life of the bunch. Many's the time that, leading up to a crucial climb (after having knocked off a couple of stubbies along the flat), I've relayed some ridiculously funny story to the rest of the bunch and then, while they're bent double laughing, dug deep into my lager reserves to breakaway over the mountain. I usually stop for a couple of quick pints near the summit, before heading down the other side, hands behind the seat, chin on the handlbar stem and all fear just a distant memory from a sober past.
Back in the days of the Sunday Session, I won many races purely in an effort to get back to the pub before the session was over.
Remember, beer is your friend and cycling is a way to utilise the power that it brings you.

Eoin

 

[Beastt]

Originally posted by zaskar
I use to drink beer before i got serious about cycling. well today is friday and i have a 1 hour mountain time trial sunday morning.
if i drink say 3-6 beers today will it have a negative affect on my performance sunday am?? or how long does it take alcohol to get out of system? thanks.

I have to say I loved the response from EoinC. Very humorous which is nice to find in a place where many of the topics can become a bit too serious.

Although I don't race, I find that I ride better if I don't drink the night before. I'm not sure exactly how long the ill affects from alcohol last but I know that one of the key concerns is the dehydrating effect of alcohol. Although it's probably possible to properly rehydrate by Sunday after drinking on Friday, I seriously doubt that it's the best thing to do if you're serious about your racing. The adverse affects of dehydration rarely vanish quickly and although you may not be able to link a poor performance to dehydration, I find it hard to believe that the muscle tissue can be at it's best so soon after being washed in alcohol.

 

[Fixey]

I would darely love to argue "no problem" on this one, but I cant. your body can deal with one standard drink an hour, ie if you have 6 standard drinks, in 6 hours your body has prosessed the poison. while that is good, it takes abit longer to normalise your body...I believe (not 100% on this one) that it takes 3lt of fluid to process 40 ml alc, 40 ml is about 4 standard drinks. so 6 standard drinks = 4.5 lt fluid. If that is correct then rehydration would take awhile. will it noticably effect your sunday ride? probably not...but it will effect it.

 

[zaskar]

Thanks for the input guys, i just decided not to have a few beers it's been about 4 months since i had a beer and i had a taste for a few, maybe ill have a few after the TT to celebrate.

 

[zaskar]

Originally posted by EoinC
How did I miss this thread? 2 of my favourite pastimes - Beer-drinking AND drinking Beer! Oh, wow, and cycling, too!
Seriously, though, Friday is not Friday if you don't drink beer. That is why they invented Friday's (and also why they invented beer). I hope you didn't wait until now to find this out.
Drinking beer before you race helps you to settle down, provides all the nutritional necessities, rehydrates you, provides you with "the vision" (sometimes even double) and makes you the life of the bunch. Many's the time that, leading up to a crucial climb (after having knocked off a couple of stubbies along the flat), I've relayed some ridiculously funny story to the rest of the bunch and then, while they're bent double laughing, dug deep into my lager reserves to breakaway over the mountain. I usually stop for a couple of quick pints near the summit, before heading down the other side, hands behind the seat, chin on the handlbar stem and all fear just a distant memory from a sober past.
Back in the days of the Sunday Session, I won many races purely in an effort to get back to the pub before the session was over.
Remember, beer is your friend and cycling is a way to utilise the power that it brings you.

Eoin

LOL nice reply lmao!

 

[Fixey]

I still drink bear.... 1 jug (1 LTR) on thursdays and one on saturdays. Funny thing, I tried to make the senior Rugby team a few years ago, had a friends wedding the day before the trial, stayed sobber alnight and played the worst game of rugby I have ever seen the next day. Always regretted not getting smashed that night, wouldnt have been possible to play any worse.....ah hind sight, gotta love it

 

[waterboy420]

Originally posted by Fixey
I still drink bear.... 1 jug (1 LTR) on thursdays and one on saturdays. Funny thing, I tried to make the senior Rugby team a few years ago, had a friends wedding the day before the trial, stayed sobber alnight and played the worst game of rugby I have ever seen the next day. Always regretted not getting smashed that night, wouldnt have been possible to play any worse.....ah hind sight, gotta love it

I was a hooker in college and played my best games hung over. . . . or maybe I was still feeling the good courage from the night before.

Now on to cycling! I honestly love the wonderful carbs in the beer! Oh, and the alcohol too! I will feel great on a Saturday morning ride after let's say three beers. I think of it this way: 1) Carbs, necessary to provide that energy one needs to have a truly successful ride. Some like pasta, I like beer. 2) I have a much more fulfilling sleep. Noi night-before-jitters, etc.

To each his own, but I gotta have my beer.

 

[patch70]

You are likely to make more lactic acid in the 12-24 hours after drinking so technically you shouldn't perform as well. However, one or two will do much less than a 'skin-full'. As Beastt siad, dehydration related to drinking can also impair performance.

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by patch70
As Beastt siad, dehydration related to drinking can also impair performance.

Disagree - As one who frequently wears Lager-lensed Spectacles, I can categorically state that beer enhances pretty well everything.
Who wouldn't trade a minute perceived performance drop for the greatly enhanced dehydration that alcohol offers. It can take me hours on a bike not drinking water to get anywhere near the dehydration levels that I can achieve from sitting down drinking beer and cracking jokes. It is difficult to find that kind of advantage in over-the-counter chemicals.

Beer - it really is the complete food.

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal-lobotamy. i think there's something in that for all of us.

Eoin (one more for the road/track/trail) C

 

[tomUK]

truth be told (and I'm sure this is documented in his autobiography) Graham Obree set the world track record after a night of curry and beer. Now I'm not suggesting he was out on the tiles - grannie knocking or pulling moonies at little old ladies walking their dogs at midnight, however, I'm sure he induced a little numbness in his soul.

some of my best rides have been after a few stella's.

 

[brightgarden]

i still drink a beer every night (no wonder i'm so pokey). but have found that the day after an ipa is much worse than the day after a miller lite--which is almost like water (and i don't mean that in a derogatory way). duchess de bourgogne requires a full day of rest following, but is an uplifting ale, and i have often found myself cruising along very well, seemingly better than average (even though the computers disagree). although i don't really like the taste of stella's, i can see how you can get a good ride after a few.

cheers!

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by brightgarden
i have often found myself cruising along very well, seemingly better than average (even though the computers disagree).

I home brew in order to make sure that my body receives all the nutrients that are required to compete at the professional drunk level. India Pale Ales would tend to be my preferred body-building supplement, particularly livng in a tropical Country.
When I am back in the colder climes, I tend to move first to Black & Tan's (allowing the body a chance to assimilate to the higher Iron content that becomes a necessary adjunct in building the blubber that is required to stave off low temperatures when out riding).
I gradually wean myself from the B & T's onto full-bodied Stouts, or B & T's using Dark Ales for the Tan. I believe it's important (if you want to remain competetive) to make this a gradual shift as, on occassion, I have found 12 pints of Guiness can temporarily take some of the edge of my performance if I'm not already acclimatised. The body just has difficulty absorbing the quantities of mega-nutrients that come in Stout if the filters have not already been adjusted.
Remember - Competitive riding comes from good planning and good planning is a well-stocked refrigerator.

Eoin (Well, just one more, Doc, if you reckon it's going to make me faster) C

 

[dmay]

I prefer a nice cold Saranc to almost anything else and this has been my downfall to an increased weight loss. I would rather climb and extra hill or three to be able to have a couple more beers in the end

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by dmay
I would rather climb and extra hill or three to be able to have a couple more beers in the end

Excellent. It's good to see that others realise what a valuable tool beer is in the training arsenal. Similar to carbo-loading, you can try building up from mid-strengths to supers just before race day. I think you're meant to then stop consuming in order to trick the body into utilising the enhanced malt levels that are circulating in your blood stream, but I've always got on fine by just continuing to imbibe.
A practical empirical measure of where your malt levels are at (and it is endorsed by several accredited studies) is to check on how funny you think your own jokes are. You can also stealthily check on the levels in your competition by trying a few jokes out on them. If you are rolling on the floor cackling and they're standing there stone-faced, you've got them. This will give you a major advantage going into any race.

 

[tomUK]

A long ride in the summer can often call for a short stop at the pub. After 2 jars I resume the ride but often find that shortness of breath becomes a factor. Is this a medical problem or am I just literally gasping for more?

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by tomUK
A long ride in the summer can often call for a short stop at the pub. After 2 jars I resume the ride but often find that shortness of breath becomes a factor. Is this a medical problem or am I just literally gasping for more?

Tom,
Good observations. The body is a remarkable thing. Throughout evolution, it has picked up the ability to seek the right fuels to get the job done. We are constantly bombarded by "information" telling us to only eat this or only drink this much. In obeying these whimsical instructions, we override our inherent ability in judging the "right measure".
You need to learn to trust your body. When you sat down and knocked over a couple of pints, it felt good, didn't it? That was your body telling you that you are doing the right thing in supplying it with the malt and hops that it requires to grow into a strong and healthy bike rider.
The shortness of breath that you feel is because you've engaged it on a health regime and then suddenly cut it short by jumping back on the bike. After 2 pints, you may have enhanced the malt levels in your small left toe, but you can hardly expect the body to have achieved a full recovery to the 3.52 to 3.78 Alpha-Malt levels that it requires in order to function efficiently.
The solution is to drink good wholesome beer until you can drink no more....and then drink some more. You will find that, at this stage, the world is your oyster (albeit an oyster that spins quite a lot more than you would normally expect a common garden-variety oyster to do). You are completely invincible (as long as someone holds you up) and ready for anything, even karaoke.
When you have had enough beer, you won't even remember to gasp. That is the "right measure".

Eoin (Well, I guess one more couldn't hurt) C

 

[tomUK]

Eion -

I'm sure this is a question that many here would like to ask. Is it okay to drink beer while riding? On my mountain bike I would often find myself with two cages - one with a water bottle (filled with H20) and one with a can of lager. The problem I encountered was that while riding rough terrain the can would often 'bouce' out of the cage performing a little dance on it's slow-down to zero velocity. Obviously, this would be a two-fold pain. Firstly I would have to go and retrieve my dependence and secondly I would find that the spray factor could often become overwhelming upon opening the goods.

Do you have any suggestions to overcome this issue? I have thought about pouring the beer into a bottle prior to leaving home, however, this no doubt would leave it tasting like a can opened 12 hours previous - flat. I then thought about putting the malt in my camelback. This option excited me as I thought 3 litres is a good amount to be in possesion of, however, it too would suffer the fizz-less trouble.

Yours seekingly,
Tom

 

[Carrera]

I used to live in St Petersburg in Russia and developed a passion for alcohol. The stuff was everywhere, in shops, cafes, booths and even at work. One day they had a board-room meeting and ended the proceedings with a knees-up consisting of chocolate cakes and vodka. Needless to say, I left in a state of intoxication.
However, this made me feel guilty. I thought of all the athletes knocking themselves out in the sports centre, so I rushed to the stadium and decided to join them and train. I must have been crazy, to be honest, as it's dangerous to do sports with alcohol in the system.
Amazingly, my performance was to be applauded and I went through my entire routine through will-power alone.
My favourite beer in Russia was something called rasputinskayo (with a picture of Rasputin on the bottle). It cost just a few cents per bottle.
I also recall that once I met a Russian girl who asked me to buy her a bottle but I was astonished when she ripped the cap off with her teeth instead of needing a bottle-opener.
These days I don't drink much at all. However, I do believe that red wine is very beneficial so I stopped drinking beer and swapped to wine. Wine in moderation is also good for the heart and has helped reduce instances of cancer in Europe.
I don't think I would like to ride my bike fueled on alcohol but I wouldn't object to a couple of glasses after training.

Originally posted by zaskar
I use to drink beer before i got serious about cycling. well today is friday and i have a 1 hour mountain time trial sunday morning.
if i drink say 3-6 beers today will it have a negative affect on my performance sunday am?? or how long does it take alcohol to get out of system? thanks.

 

[vitiris]

When I was doing long distance touring, I would consume the best part of a bottle of wine at lunch, weave my way for half an hour then be right as rain. I remember one night of being totally paralytic, next morning crashing hangover, one hour of painful cycling and hangover gone. Nowadays I like to down a pint on a longish ride, certainly gives a fillip to things afterwards