Alcohol before, during and after rides...

[Jaded]

Ttiuwh

[Genosse Brymbo]

Oddly enough, I had my first on-ride alcohol two weeks ago on Mr. Pickwick's Dragons and Legends 600 - a pint of bitter shandy, admittedly after a pint of orange and lemonade.  It tasted absolutely wonderful.

[caerau]

I'll occasionally have a beer on a audax.  I had a very civilised pint with Rover on the Gower Getter last year, a pint on the Buzzard in July last year at Sherborne plus two pints of OJ/lemonade which more or less got downed in one (it was 35 °C  and hard not to get dehydrated).  I had a bottle of Stella on the Monmouthshire Meander.  Haven't had any this year.


I see no harm in one pint but I'd be very reluctant to have any more.


I've been much less careful the night before on many occasions though 

[BlackSheep]

I did once enjoy a 3 pint 300, but that was with Dave Lewis.

+1 (on a few occasions), there's even a pic in arrivee with Dave, George Hannah, Cyclofabrica and Martin Mullins - outside  Desmondo's local

[teethgrinder]

I did try to drink a 75cl bottle of Jack Daniels during the last LEL. There was a logic behind turning AUKs flagship event into a bizarre drinking game.
To be able to drink a whole bottle, I'd have to be well hydrated and in good shape. Also, riding at full value pace would allow more time. It works out at a bottle of whiskey over the course of 5 days. I could take very small sips during the day and at night, use it as a nightcap, which is how I drank the bulk of it.
I wasn't going to get drunk or jeopardise my ride, so I wasn't going to drink and be damned and I only drank it if I wanted to. I wasn't going to force myself. I only managed half the bottle, so an unsuccessful challenge.

I don't drink very much as it is (4 units a week is a heavy drinking week for me, most weeks I have none) so although I have rarely drunk alcohol on AUK events, I never drink more than a pint of beer at a time unless I'm about to go to sleep because I'm not used to alcohol.
I tend to go for a bitter shandy and it has worked very well on hot days and I think that it makes a good recovery drink for fluid replacement and giving the blood sugar a little boost.

I think that bitter was originally a refreshment drink for manual workers centuries ago and have heard that it's a good isotonic drink. I've also heard of 24hr TTers putting beer in their bottles several decades ago. AUK patron, David Duffield drank brandy on his end to end tricycle record ride and that, apparently, wasn't unusual.
The trouble is that, relatively very recently, the alcohol content of beer has more or less doubled, which makes it a bit too strong for a lot of people.

I certainly remember feeling MUCH better after drinking a bottle of beer after completing the 3 Coasts 600 and Good Companions 200 double in 2007 and also after having 2 bottles of beer before I went to sleep at the Betwys Coed control on the MC1K last week.

The large beer I had at around 10am while on my last PBP most definitely slowed me down, but I had time in hand and was only riding for fun and I did enjoy it.

[hellymedic]

'Alcohol inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis.' ie stops liver synthesising glucose/glycogen.

                                                                 ME
Can you explain this please to this dumbass ☝︎ 

Alcohol reduces the liver's production of glucose and glycogen from substances in the bloodstream.

If you ride mainly on carbs, this may be a problem.
If you mainly ride on fats and there's LOTS of sugar in your shandy, you'll probably be OK.

People differ in their fuel use and individuals will vary at different stages of a ride.
There's more fat use after a few hours' riding.
Alcohol could be dangerous in someone suffering The Bonk.
A cold, hilly ride will demand more carbs than a warm, flat ride.

[valkyrie]

The organisers of the Mile Failte 1200 were good enough to lay on free beer at the sleep control on the second night. I had a couple of small bottles which were very refreshing after a long day drinking water flavoured with Zero tabs and Coca Cola. Also had a shandy or two at lunch on the ride - this never seems to do me any harm and again it's a great change to the sugary sweet stuff I drink at most other stops.

[eck]

A pint of shandy 50km before the finish of a 300 is very refreshing. A second pint is not a good idea. DAHIKT.
But I think valkyrie might remember. 

[Hummers]

After years of avoiding alcohol during a ride, I found rrecently that drinking and even quite a tough 300k are not mutually exclusive and can indeed enhance the experience. 

H

[Pete Mas]

I usually try to avoid alcohol on a long ride, after all, I want to have something to look forward to at the finish!
At the finish of the Mile Failte 1200k recently, a pint of Guiness was heavenly.
However:-
On PBP 2007, I remember choosing the free beer alternative on arrival at Brest, and feeling most light-headed sitting in the sun enjoying it.
On LEL 2009, I remember enjoying a pint with Laidback Rich and pals at the penultimate control.

[arvid]

I rarely drink and it's no different during rides, unless the organization supplies it and/or I'm feeling very good/confident.
On my first LEL I didn't have whiskey in Traquair, I did on my second. I also had a very small glass of wine on Mille Miglia in the morning after the first leg, when I felt really good after 4 hours in a hotel bed, the best sleep I had in three nights.
On my return trip from PBP I cycled along the Mosel (doing around 200km/day) and had wine with my dinner and cycled for another hour or two afterwards.

[citoyen]

I tend to avoid alcohol during a ride but on the one audax I won* I'd opted for a pint of shandy at the control that was in a pub.

Also, I've done the Tour of the Surrey Hills three times and my fastest time was recorded on the occasion I rode with a stinking hangover.

Tbh, I suspect these are coincidences rather than arguments in favour of booze before and during a long ride.

After an audax, a pint or two always goes down well unless I have to drive home.

[Andrew]

A shandy is designed for cyclists!

I enjoyed a panaché on Weds afternoon after around 140km, but that's definitely an exception rather than a rule... and I was parched!

[Bairn Again]

no alcohol for x days before a x00 km audax.

Id maybe have a shandy during a 600 at the tail end of the first leg - or in the final 100km as a morale booster.

Definitely a beer or two at the finish.

I think that zero alcohol Erdinger is marketed as an isotonic drink.  Its lovely.   

[caerau]

Also, I've done the Tour of the Surrey Hills three times and my fastest time was recorded on the occasion I rode with a stinking hangover.

I've found a long ride to be an excellent hangover cure once or twice 

[hellymedic]

I wonder whether it's the ride, or the large quantities of liquid and sugar that cure the hangover.
Could be the combination of course...

[teethgrinder]

I think that the light exercise just speeds up the system a little bit, similar to going for a gentle recovery ride after a hard training session.
The extra liquid and sugar probably helps too.

[Veloman]

I think that zero alcohol Erdinger is marketed as an isotonic drink.  Its lovely.   

That is correct.  Someone I know was drinking it after an event last week.

Never tasted it myself, but he did say it was lovely.

[caerau]

I wonder whether it's the ride, or the large quantities of liquid and sugar that cure the hangover.
Could be the combination of course...

I think it's the sweating - I never said I had lots of sugar or fluid
Plus the pain of the ride tends to make one forget other pains


I wasn't really talking about a randonnee (or being very serious incidentally) - I noticed this once on a 50 mile or so ride after a big night out the night before, I don't eat anything on a ride that long.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

I never do anything well with a hangover, except feel grumpy.  During a long hot ride, (the first time was on the Mille Miglia) I have become converted to the idea of the occasional beer.  Whether it was the joy of something different and refreshing, or whether there was some genuine physiological benefit, I could not tell you, but I definitely went better, as judged by my co-rider having to hang on to my rear wheel for the next 30km whilst I rode up a valley floor with the speedo permanently in excess of 30kph.  I'd avoid ale, wine or spirits. 

I've also found that I have a lower tolerance to alcohol after a long ride, a glass of wine usually sends me to sleep, a factor that can last for a few days, especially after a long hard event.  That does't always stop me 

[Glover Fan]

Never drink at least 48 hours in advance of a ride.

Always where-ever possible have a drink during the last 50km of a ride. I don't know what it is, I find a pint of proper ale gives me a real kick up the ass.

Maybe it's cause I am a lightweight and one pint is sufficient to numb the pain?

[Ian H]

There is a quote from a very eminent randonneur: "I like starting an event with a hangover. It stops me riding my legs off in the first 100 miles."

[Hummers]

I think if alcohol consumption before, during and after rides (around 200k a day for 3 days) was generally an issue, our yearly season outing to France would not be as popular as it is. 

H

[Chris S]

Depends on the ride.

Semaine fédérale? The beer starts flowing at 10:30am, and flows steadily through the day, and yet the miles seem to pass on by regardless.

UK Audax? Nah. I need my liver for burning fat and (as Helly says) making glucose from protein. We enjoy a beer or a cider on winter 100s, but it doesn't feature much at all on summer audaxes.

[Exit Stage Left]

I don't sleep well with an alarm clock set, I associate it with stressful work. So it's pointless to imagine I'll get a good night's sleep in a village hall full of snoring blokes, who will start rustling bags at 4.30 am for a 6am start. Four pints is the minimum for a refreshing snooze. Likewise for a dormitory on rides over 600. If there's unlikely to be booze available I'll stop at the off-licence closest to the control. The Australian Shiraz from the Co-Op in Alston on LEL 2005 was good value, but a little cold once it had been over Yad Moss.
When I'm filming I get a bit hyper, so I generally buy 20 B&H at about 900k on a 1200 to bring the mood down, but that depends on how much caffeine I've been ingesting, so it's either the Tabac in Corlay or the Bar des Sports in Fresnay-sur-Sarthe.