Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Further and Faster => Topic started by: Tiger on 11 August, 2008, 02:43:33 pm
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I have never actually used PED's but I bet someone out there has!
My question is simple - do amphetamines and coke actually work - these being the drugs available on the street round here.
I mean - if I snorted up a line or two would I then see a significant boost in my ability to wizz round Richmond Park?
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Amphetamines increase the heart rate and do other nasty things to the body. I don't think they make you faster. Most likely you'd be held up the desire to stop and chew the ear off passers by.
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PEDs work, of course they do. Otherwise a lot of people wouldn't spend a lot of time and money trying to disguise taking them.
But going out cycling on coke or sulphate's a daft thing to do IMHO.
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Ability to wizz [sic] round Richmond Park?
No. You will think you can go faster, but taking whizz does NOT increase sprint speed.
Increased performance in the Mersey Roads 24?
Almost certainly. Zip will increase endurance, reduce fatigue, etc.
However, take heed of Aunty C's advice: two pro cyclists have died taking amphetamine while competing, one on TdF, one at the Olympics.
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I have never actually used PED's but I bet someone out there has!
My question is simple - do amphetamines and coke actually work - these being the drugs available on the street round here.
I mean - if I snorted up a line or two would I then see a significant boost in my ability to wizz round Richmond Park?
cocaine is an actual stimulant and poss. the most addict drug because of this. I can't speak about 'crack' but it is a derivative. Doing a line actually fires all the brain receptors off at once - max.pleasure so if you are doing something pleasurable eg sex then the effect will be heightened. Alcohol is a depressant, it depresses/surpresses certain parts of the brain, hence why people become violent/morose etc. I'm sure someone like HellyMedic can enlighten you further. Drugs such as HGH and EPO do work (and v.well) according to the data.
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According to my son, people who take 'ket' act like morons, and he hates it because some of his friends got hooked (and are no longer friends).
Turns normal people into sweaty aggressive idiots.
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I am no expert about these things.
I know amphetamines are addictive, that is why they are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
They are also potentially dangerous.
Some people get addicted to various substances more easily than others.
Personally, I would avoid these things.
DON'T
I would say that, wouldn't I?
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I found that it was fantastic if you wanted to talk bollocks at great length about ‘Apocalypse Now’ at 3am in the morning. No idea about it’s other performance enhancing abilities.
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Taking caffeine, an actual stimulant which is readily available and legal for most uses, can help even in sprints if you would otherwise be performing sub-optimally. Certainly I used to take a high-caffeine energy drink after the semi-finals of rowing regattas, even over sprint distances, to help with recovery before the final. It makes a big difference, judged subjectively.
(I'd keep a second can to give to the guy driving us home. Spending a whole day racing isn't ideal preparation for operating dangerous machinery.)
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I am sure we can all agree - Drugs are evil and bad etc etc and should not be abused etc etc.
A TDF or proper athlete is pushing the body to extreme levels - it is not really a comparison to an old bloke like me spinning around the park for a couple of hours trying to hold off the London Dynamo.
Has anyone actually given it a go - taken some toot and then done the club TT for instance - and if so what sort of performance impact did they experience?
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No, never, and I think if I tried it, I'd probably have a heart attack as it places increased strain on your heart.
I also think that if you're an elite athlete with an impressive cardiovascular system, you're less likely to get heart failure from taking such things than if you're not.
If you try it, survive, and don't get addicted, I'd be interested to hear how it worked though. :)
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I only did amphetamines a few times as a student years ago and I never got addicted!
What I did on the stuff would send this thread straight into NSFW though :P
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Someone did PBP03 on speed
He felt it helped - but his time wasn't remarkable.
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I'd like to make it clear that I am NOT talking from personal experience, because I'd never say I've taken drugs in a publically viewable forum. So I must be making all of the following up.
Cannabis
Likely result if taken before cycling.
You might reach your destination, someday. Everyone else seems to be on Ket. Who cares?
Acid
Likely result if taken before cycling.
First find your bike. Then try to work out why your bike wants to grow teeth and bite you. Then realise that it isn't your bike, it's next-door neighbours rottweiler. Eventually find bike, cycle so fast that you break the speed of light, which is the only explanation for those coloured lights flashing everywhere.
Ectasy
Likely result if taken before cycling.
Ride all night, all day without needing to rest. Lycra is just so smooooth and silky. Start stroking other people's lycra. All give up riding and start appreciating each other's lycra.
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Never used it before cycling but when I used to do speed, it would make you last all night. Not sure about the endurance effects, it was more the numbness that helped ;)
It used to make me sweat more than normal with whatever activity I was doing walking etc'. Also if you do use it buy some shares in Wrigleys as you'll get through a lot of gum ;D
Rich.
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Has anyone actually given it a go - taken some toot and then done the club TT for instance - and if so what sort of performance impact did they experience?
If it knocks 20s off my PB, how do you recommend I resist the temptation to use it every week (ignoring the purely physically addictive aspect) ?
To answer your question, I reckon if you read a few books about bike racing in, say, the middle third of the 20th century, you'll get more accurate answers than from us!
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If it knocks 20s off my PB, how do you recommend I resist the temptation to use it every week (ignoring the purely physically addictive aspect) ?
Erm... 'cos it's against the rules...?
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Do amphetamines work?
not half as effectively as a cocktail of HGH, EPO and DECA, according to the article below... it's a bit long and involvled, but it is probably the best description i've seen of actual documented effects of the stuff that a number of the pro riders have been busted for. The items prescribed by the doctor were almost identical to the contents of Willy Voet's car boot.
http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html (http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html)
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If it knocks 20s off my PB, how do you recommend I resist the temptation to use it every week (ignoring the purely physically addictive aspect) ?
Erm... 'cos it's against the rules...?
YES I KNOW ! :thumbsup:
I meant IF I did Tigger's experiment for him, it would be a slippery slope after that. I have no intention of trying, mainly because I value my health over my PB (but also cos of those pesky rules you mention).
I was also trying to imply that hardly anyone will be around that has ONLY tried this the once, and therefore be willing to share their data. mKay?
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Similarly to mr charley...
If one was to take MDMA before cycling you might find yourself...
- Wondering if your skin is flapping in the windblast
- Getting a little dispirited that the road is stretching away into infinity, guarded by balls of light streaking around leaving long tails of light behind them.
- Marveling at the way the ground is just a smudge underneath you.
- Attempting to decipher your speed, but failing - probably due to the massive speed you are cycling at.
- OMG! I'M CYCLING! THIS IS SO COOL!
- It isn't costing me any effort at all, this is great. I wish I could cycle in my house, that would be so much easier than walking.
- Find out in the morning that your average speed was a paltry 8mph.
If one was to take cannabisbefore cycling you might find yourself...
- wondering how this works, I mean really works
- dude, the air feels thicker than normal
- everyone knows I'm high, don't they? Aah well, I'm not doing any harm
- I'm cycling, cycling is green, i just smoked loads of green. Thats pretty cool, i think i should smoke some more.
- Where was i going?
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Isn't the Dutch / Belgian amateur cycling scene drug of choice "Pot Belge", a mixture of cocaine, amphetamines and heroin?
Pot belge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_Belge)
Sounds, erm, fun. As someone who may or may not have tinkered in the past, I wouldn't. Stick to strong espresso and energy drink! :thumbsup:
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Bicycle trip (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=117&art_id=vn20060116065757843C481141) - the creator of LSD first discovered its effects as he cycled home.
I like that story. :)
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Chaps - I am not thinking of brewing up a nasty cocktail of drugs in order to win a stage race or die on Roehampton hill like Simpson on the Ventoux. Or descending into a drug crazed hell in Chiswick etc etc etc
I just want to know if anyone (of ordinary regular cycling physique) has tried a blow of speed before riding hard - and if so did they go any faster? I am sure that the curious experimenters of the acf must include someone who has tried it...
I reckon strong coffee certainly has a tiny effect in enabling me to push a bit harder fro about an hour or so - but certainly not what I would call 'performance enhancing'.
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Chaps - I am not thinking of brewing up a nasty cocktail of drugs in order to win a stage race or die on Roehampton hill like Simpson on the Ventoux. Or descending into a drug crazed hell in Chiswick etc etc etc
I just want to know if anyone (of ordinary regular cycling physique) has tried a blow of speed before riding hard - and if so did they go any faster? I am sure that the curious experimenters of the acf must include someone who has tried it...
I reckon strong coffee certainly has a tiny effect in enabling me to push a bit harder fro about an hour or so - but certainly not what I would call 'performance enhancing'.
Amphetamines help you stay awake and ignore fatigue
So for instance you might be able to do a slightly better time under the influence of amphetaimes for a long time trial because the feelings of fatigue would not be felt. You would still be fatigued but you would not feel fatigued. This would mean that when you came to the last few miles you might try harder than you otherwise would. However, the drug does not give you any extra power so it does not as such make you go faster
Caffeine works in a similar way but is a less powerful stimulant. Also caffeine affects the uptake of carbohydrates and so may increase the amount of power available.
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As I understand it, amphetamines work the same pathways as ephedrine.
Astana beans are an ephedrine-caffeine-aspirin combo, which is a classic metabolism booster stack used by gym rats the world over. A dose of 25-40mg of ephedrine is standard for an habituated athlete and there is a synergistic combination of effects which roughly translate to "way-hey! woosh!".
Ephedrine is WADA proscribed.
I've never tried wizz (too many hippies, not enough glowsticks in my life) but given that it works on the same pathway, I'd expect something similar only more so. I do intend to do the experiment some time, because while psychedelics bore me and dope just makes me horny, I seem to get on with stimulants. I'll be sure to report my findings in a secret post in the seekrit sektion. ;)
(FWIW thyroxin T3 or clenbuterol, which also boost metabolism, suck as bike PEDs.)
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ephedrine-caffeine-aspirin combo
Why the aspirin, Andy?
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It's supposed to be "synergistic" - I don't have a history of the combo to hand. I do know that some people skip it or replace the aspirin with yohimbine (the "ECY stack"). One of the main effects apart from stimulation is appetite suppresion, and I suspect the aspirin may be part of that. Appetite suppression is a risk with any stimulant/exercise combo, because you can simply forget to eat until you bonk. Discipline is required.
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Perhaps we could all chip in and buy you a line or even a bag for an experiment?
Hang on, no, that would be supply.
I would be joining F4J then as Mrs G would kick me out for being so stoopid. ;D
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It's supposed to be "synergistic" - I don't have a history of the combo to hand. I do know that some people skip it or replace the aspirin with yohimbine (the "ECY stack"). One of the main effects apart from stimulation is appetite suppresion, and I suspect the aspirin may be part of that. Appetite suppression is a risk with any stimulant/exercise combo, because you can simply forget to eat until you bonk. Discipline is required.
I checked it out in Wiki:
Aspirin inhibits prostaglandin production outside of the cells, which, in conjunction with caffeine, greatly prolongs the thermogenic effects and increased metabolism by sustaining elevated cAMP levels.
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I checked it out in Wiki:
Aspirin inhibits prostaglandin production outside of the cells, which, in conjunction with caffeine, greatly prolongs the thermogenic effects and increased metabolism by sustaining elevated cAMP levels.
So Astana beans make you camp?
Get Her, ducky :D
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You've seen me in that hat. :thumbsup: