DeadGrandpa

I recognize bicycle touring is not compatible with consumption of excess amounts of beer (too heavy to carry sufficient quantities) or whiskey. Still, I know a backpacker who carries a bit of Jack on hikes for therapeutic use. I can imagine some small amount of consumption might benefit camaraderie, soreness and sleep if dehydration is not an issue. Any experience out there?

tarwheel 

I plead guilty as charged. I have a plastic flask from REI that weighs very little and I fill it with bourbon for emergency purposes -- sterilizing bullet wounds and that sort of thing.

staehpj1

I don't carry alcohol, but have met plenty of folks who do, usually in the form of bourbon. Then there are also folks who stop at bars or pubs along the way and folks who pick up a few beers near camp in the evening.

I mostly abstain while on tour, but have on occasion bought and shared a bottle wine over dinner when not travelling alone.

3speed

I like to pick up a bomber or two when I get near camp for the night. It's not a big deal to carry a couple bottles a few miles. I was recently looking at the King Cage brand Oliver cage too. It's like a water bottle holder, but made to hold a Stanley flask. I do think one of those will be in my future. 8oz of scotch and a small flask doesn't weigh that much...

fietsbob

I visited Bushmills as I passed Thru Northern Ireland, later I took the Island Hopper Ferry , but Found no Visitors Tasting Rooms on Islay.

bikemig 

I like grabbing a beer or two in a store before heading to a campsite if that is possible. And whiskey helps sterilize the water.

jbphilly

There really is nothing like a few swigs of nice bourbon on a starry night of camping. And it sure beats hauling beer around to drink warm!

veganbikes

I don't really drink much and most of what I drink is Hard Cider but I probably would carry a little flask just in case if I drank harder liquor. It would probably be single malt scotch or something fancy if I did. Scotch, I am told, is a great for emergencies like bullet wounds or getting your arm trapped in a rock for, I don't know, 127 hours.

cyclist2000

I used to take a flask of scotch on some of my trips because I thought trying to have a cold beer was too much to carry and I thought I could drink scotch and water. Turns out, I don't like scotch too much. Now I abstain.

MassiveD

The thing about flasks is that you go to the river or the hunt, and return for lunch, dinner, whatever to the country house, where constant refills could be obtained, and probably from beaters and ghilies throughout the day. The idea that anything particularly useful can be achieved from a non-refilable small flask is interesting and not consistent with my experience of the kind of people who normally ask these questions.

As far as carrying beer, etc... You have to have your priorities. Often in bike touring you pass through towns all day long, so you can usually get beer along the route (except in places like Ontario that wish they were still dry). Even without that, I enjoy reading Mark Hudon's high adventures on yosemite walls. They haul hundreds of pounds of gear up the vertical realm with their climbing gear. So that they can enjoy their time on the wall, and also enjoy beverages of their choice. Where there is a will there is a way.

Myself, i mostly don't drink. I don't find it helps me with what is often a dehydrating grind on the roads.

DeadGrandpa

+1. Mostly I just think about drinking; I have concluded that thinking without drinking is preferable to drinking without thinking. I was curious as to the attitude of more experienced tourers. Getting up in the morning is hard enough for me without a hangover.

indyfabz

Are you kidding? When I planned a tour across PA that I took in September I researched the location of liquor stores. In PA, you can only buy wine and hard alcohol in state-owned stores. The state is actually the largest single purchaser of alcohol in the country. In rural and semi-rural areas, the stores are few and far between and often have limited hours. For example, the one in Ashland, PA, an old coal mining town, is only open on Monday, Friday and Saturday, between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thank God for bourbon in plastic bottles.

3speed

I really like the flask for small close-to-home trips. Maybe I'm just not enough of a drinker, but I find 8oz enough to catch a little extra relaxation without having to refill. Thinking in terms of drinks, that's 4 doubles at the bar.

I don't think anyone's talking about drinking to get plastered and end up with a hangover. It's just about a little extra relaxation by the camp fire. Hangovers need not apply.

andrewclaus

I drank a little on tour when I was young, up to about age 25. Bars were a fun place to meet locals, maybe even get a few free ones. And wine tours when I lived in California, and traveled in France, were really fun.

Now alcohol actually disturbs my sleep--I drop off quickly but then I wake up groggy in a couple of hours. No thanks, not anymore, not when I have a full day of physical activity ahead of me.

Plus, a few family members and friends are struggling with alcoholism, and that changes things a bit.

wahoonc

Flask is standard issue for me, even on shorter rides. As far as filling it, varies with the mood. Drambuie, Scotch, Irish Mist, Brandy, etc. I actually have multiple flasks to choose from. One of my alltime favorites is from GSI. The point is not to get drunk, just to have a bit of liquid relaxation.

Aaron

DeadGrandpa

This is surely a case of "YMMV". My plaster would definitely be damaged, not merely relaxed, if I consumed 8oz of whiskey. I must be old. Dang. But I do appreciate your point of view.

Tourist in MSN

Yup

staehpj1

Just me, but... Yeah I thought that 8 oz of whiskey sounded like a lot to consume and probably more so if on a bike tour. If 3speed meant 8 ounces of whisky for one evening, I'd consider that not only plastered, but probably a sign of a drinking problem. It depends on body weight but I am pretty sure that would be well into the legally intoxicated zone for most folks. I know that I'd definitely consider myself plastered and would have a hangover after that much alcohol in one sitting and I am heavier than average. Different strokes though. Folks can do as they please, I just find it odd to equate 8 ounces of whisky in one sitting as not getting plastered.

robert schlatte

Toward the end of the day, I find a convenience store and purchase a 16oz can of beer to take to camp. Usually stays cold until I set up and then I drink it and mull over the days adventure. Absolutely relaxing.

irwin7638

Oh, that's what that is for, "medicinal purposes." I thought Listerine was the antiseptic. Oh, I get it now.



Marc

Cyclebum

A 5:30 pm toddy/day, tour or no. Could be later when touring in the summer. Medicinal of course, as an oz or two of alcohol is suppose to be good for the cardiovascular, not to mention its socially liberating influence.

hilltowner

My technique as well. It's a very important part of the day. I call it "rehydrating."

RickBlane

I like to stop at a pub or few on a day long or longer ride for a pint of Gunness here and there. Nothing else is worth stopping for. I keep a flask of 151 dark rum for emergencies. First aid, backup stove fuel, to add to morning tea to get my eyes open on a cold day.

I feel a chill coming on now in fact.

Bandera

[QUOTE=DeadGrandpa;17411886Any experience out there? [/QUOTE]

Lots: whether it's a trip on the bicycle, motorcycle, roadster or truck imbibing at the end of day is a ritual of the road.
Be prepared, there some "Dry" counties still out there.

-Bandera

shipwreck

Funny story, I was coming home from a four day trip, and taking back roads I was not 100% sure about. I figured I knew where I was, and stopped at a gas station where a main road crossed the country road I was on. Went in, was getting some snacks, and saw a whole wall of beer cooler and racks of booze. I started to get a little panicked, cause I was sure it was the middle of a dry county, and I was miles off course. Turned out that the county had been voted wet a few months before, and I was on route, but for a minute it was kind of freaky, as that county had been dry for all my life.

I don't take any refreshment with me, because riding and touring is something I really started when I finally stopped. But I fully endorse anyone who considers a measly eight ounces to be to much, to have a relaxing drink at the end of the day. Untill you start filling a camelback with Old Grandad and a little bit of soda for a day on the bike, you should be fine!