I enjoy a beer or two at the end of a long day in the saddle but experience has taught me that moderation makes the following day a lot more pleasant.
Mind you, sometimes even one is too much.
I once spent a day trying to ride my bike into a monster Belgian headwind before eventually grinding to a halt in the picturesque town of Ghent. (Yeah I know, who goes on a cycling vacation in a sceneryless country like Belgium?). Anyway, I was absolutely wiped so decided a quick beer would hit the spot before finding somewhere for dinner.
There was just me and the barman in the place and he asked me if I wanted a light or a dark beer. "I dunno" I said. "Dark I suppose." I didn't know that in Belgium, "dark" is a euphemism for "So strong, it would knock out an elephant." It came in a goldfish bowl sized glass and the fumes alone were enough to give me a buzz. It took about an hour to drink the thing and by then I'd decided that I could probably skip dinner and just go for a lie down.
Fortunately, my hotel wasn't far away because all the way back, the walls of each building I passed took turns at leaping out and punching me, while the sidewalk rolled up and down like the Atlantic. Apparently I made it home though because I woke up the next morning fully dressed, but half off the bed.
If the Belgians ride after drinking that stuff then it's a wonder there are any of them left.
