Those statistics need a control. We don't know what percentage of the people who don't wreck have a measurable BAC. I have to say that's a figure I don't remember reading: what percentage of the population has been drinking?

always felt the same about downhill skiiing but not too many maybe two. always thought it made me less tense and more willing to go with the flow.

info for cycling:

Anything over 1.6 (0.016% BAC) is considered to be in incapable for cycling (§ 316, § 315c StGB). He'll almost certainly have to go to court, can expect a fine of 40-50 times his daily income and up to 7 points in the Flensberg register (even if he is a foreigner or does not have a German driving license - points are allocated to the person, not the license). He may have to undergo psychiatric testing ("MPU") but this depends on the court. If he is required to undergo an MPU and "fails" he might lose his driving licence (even if English). An MPU is almost always the case if he was involved in an accident with this level of alcohol, but will depend on his demeanour with the police when they caught him and the opinion of the court. Given that he'll get 7 (presumably first-time) points on his record he'll only need one more point to trigger an automatic MPU in any case

So chemically altering my mind slightly is not dangerous? I kinda figured we should have all our wits about us when doing an already inherently dangerous thing.

You'd be surprised to see how many people think they aren't drunk when in fact they are.

The very first question I was asked after my accident was, "Had you consumed any alcohol or other mind altering drugs prior to the accident?" Certainly someone cares if someone has had even one drink prior to hopping on the bike. That is just not something I am willing to have to deal with and if you do happen to encounter such a situation I hope you are honest since you seem to think it is no biggie on this forum here.

no risk; no reward

Correct. These studies are similar to studies that try to draw a conclusion from data that says X % of accidents involve cell phone usage without determining what percentage of people are using a cell for any activity and for what % of their waking hours.

If X% of people have some alcohol in their system at any point in time it would be expected that X% of people involved in bicycle accidents would also have alcohol in their system. In other words alcohol cannot be isolated as the cause or even a contributing factor without more corroboration.

Is a "beer with the buds" worth your life potentially?

I'm obviously not here to tell any of you how to live your lives. Just understand that there are consequences to drinking and riding/driving.

From the California DMV website and feel free to substitute "drive" with "ride" in the sentence since we are vehicles after all:

"REMEMBER: Even one drink is likely to affect your ability to drive safely!"

that would depend on the quality of conversation; the reward

It is true that one drink can moderately impact your abilities, but your abilities may still exceed those of the majority of the people on the road. After cell phone users, the worst drivers I see are the very old, whose reflexes and vision tend to much worse than those of someone who has had a couple beers.

Really??

But that is THEM not YOU. Nothing you can do to control their driving but I can keep my mind clear enough that I can try better to watch for those other drivers. If we are both impaired then God help us all.

of course, i work with some of the smartest guys around and they make great conversation. the field is extremely difficult to stay employed within, so there's a huge political component as well. so, if the conversation is going well, i'll have a beer or two and what people are talking about.

if the conversation is ****ty, i'll bail.

let's be serious for a second. you really should've been attentive enough to see that gap in standing traffic. even ten beers in, I would've slowed for that. maybe skipping the beer is a good idea for some but not others.

I wasn't referring to my accident. He stated things about cell phone drivers and old people. Neither played a part in my accident, sure the guy was old but I don't think that mattered really. It very easily could have gone the other way if I had been driving. The point I was making was that by reducing your awareness and reaction time you invite more problems.

Regarding my accident, you may or may not have seen the gap and prepared for it. Everyone I showed it to had no idea that was going to happen and I suspect others who watched the video were also a bit startled at the suddenness of it all. Hindsight is 20-20 after all and seeing the mistake makes it all the more obvious how I screwed up in the situation. Had I had a few beers maybe I would not have had time to hit the brakes or swerve to the right a little and things could have gone even worse or maybe not even made it there because of an accident I avoided a mile back that had I had a few beers I may have been in, not to say I had another close call prior to the accident but after drinking I may have.

We watched it here and were quite surprised that you didn't slow. But that's a discussion for a different day.

My favorite rides are my Friday evening casual MUP rides with a sixer in the bag on my rack. Ride 5 or 10 miles, have a beer, watch the world go by (or throw rocks in the river, depending on where I'm stopped), enjoy life. Repeat as necessary.

I very seldom have a beer when I'm on the open road, though. Every now and then, I'll stop by a pub on the way home from work and have one or two, but never more than two, and only if I'm not otherwise tired or hungry. I'm not preachy about it, that's just how I like to do it for myself.

The beer in the camelbak gets foamy " so I read somewhere". I only drink after pedaling. I have scars all over my body from the reverse order, think college. YRMV

The Public spaces are all reduced to Parking lots .
in order to be anywhere, for any lenght of time
you have to Buy something from the owner of that space,
Or the arrest is for Loitering.

The private space, where I meet my friends , happens to sell brewskis.

This is a Small town with 3 Taxi companies, so you don't have to drive..

I have an near-Empty somewhat rural road, wide shoulder
with the river estuary shore to my Right, all the way home.
after . 10:00

Beer gets too foamy, and IPA in a bag by my best estimation would taste like @$$.

But...a bladder full of The Captain might be warming!

The reason you ride faster after drinking is that you're in a hurry to get to he next restroom.

I guess I'll be the party pooper and point out that in recent years when the Tour de France riders have been looking for a leg up " a few beers" has not been a widely employed option. Conclude from this what you wish.

Don't need no stinkin' restroom.

If you are in a safe place go for it, of course around here i'd never do that. Check your brakes!

The last time I commuted after a few beers was in college. That would be 1971. I ended up in the ice plant ending my fastness.