i am not a partier. i only drink about 4 beers per month. But i noticed twice in the past month, the next day after having drank a few beers, when i rode my bike, I knocked about 10 minutes off my weekly 50 mile ride. Do any of you drink, and if so, have you noticed your performance on your bike is better the day after having a couple beers?? i mean 2-4..

well i think it is cuz of the carbs in beers. i notice alitle difference.

I suppose carb loading works best when you drink a month's worth of beer in one night.

Well, aside from the carbs, the last time I had a couple of cocktails prior to a late afternoon training ride, I overlapped my front wheel with a rider in front of me and took a nasty spill along with about five guys behind me.

Haha this thread is great

good point!

10 mins is a lot.. I wonder how many six-packs can fit on the 2li camelbak + an oversized water bottle.. just kidding

I think its the carbs.. I don;t think its the alcohol though although it does make you feel invinsible at times.

no... you're all wrong... it's the beer gas.... extra propulsion... it's like having a tailwind... in fact you could call it a "tail-wind"

I'm afraid I must call BS on the carbs making a difference. I'm in the middle of a study on carbo loading, and I've noticed that carbo loading doesn't affect total power output, but rather endurance. Also, to truly carbo load, you need to ingest a TON of carbs (12 g/kg of lean body mass over the 24 hours before riding) and need to precede the loading itself with a 3 minute bout of exhaustive cycling. So basically, a few beers isn't gonna make a difference carbs-wise.

But I bet it was faster.

(I actually hope all is well)

I dunno how alcohol affects my speed, but I'm very fond of my Sunday hangover recovery rides.

Maybe it's the chromium?

https://www.firstendurance.com/chromium.html

Don't know about during, but after a 85 miles ride- a little alcohol is in order.Wine seems more relaxing...
As to during..Remember used to go diving with my old dive club in the Keys.Remember doing a early AM jog to get over a hangover, so could go diving in a couple hours time.. Young and foolish, heah? It worked..

Something like this, I guess?

Of course we drink! The numero two favorite after-ride drink that was named in a survey done by Bicycling Magazine, was cold beer. Now, if I did alll my drinking before the ride,...? I'm not sure how that would work? I have never felt that I was off my pace or abilities (limited that they may be) simply because the previous day some alcohol passed my lips.

I rode with a guy once who was farting all the time, and boy was he fast! I told him he was using and illegal method of propulsion, though I don't think it was because he was drinking beer.

c.j.monty

I take a glass of red wine everyday of my life. Over the XMAS season this will surely increase....
I once spoke to former pro cyclist, who told me that during the major races of the year (TDF etc.) the riders on his team had a glass or two of the red stuff (wine that is) every night, to help them relax. Cool.

Cheeers !!!

alcohol and performance

My wife tells me my performance decreases after a few beers. I was rather suprised (and somewhat hurt.)

eye downt sea how alkohol kould aphekt perphorminc.

I would say it is the carbs. Do the same ride. No beer, lots of pasta the night before.

I used to have a beer before soccer games, and I always played better on those days.

assuming that you aren't dehydrated from drinking, perhaps the resperatory depression effects (shallower and quicker breathing) of the residual alcohol helps you here. Perhaps the residual alcohol in your system helps you relax (you hear that even squinting your eyes burns energy)

...or its what everyone else has said.

Who the hell knows?

Actually I prefer someone in front of me farting, because then it's a strong incentive to pedal faster to get ahead of the cheeze.