evictionsurplus

What methods do you employ? Some dude in a pickup truck took pity on me at the bar last night and gave me a lift as I was having really bad issues getting on my saddle. I have a quick release on my seat stem so I guess lowering the saddle is the best way to have a contusion free ride. I bike to bars as I know DUIs are nasty and costly, but so are major head injuries. This behaviour has removed a lot of my skin and I have a pinot noir-colored contousion on my thigh that is the size of a grapefruit from my exploits. Any suggestions for boozing and making it home safely? I assume road bikes don't make the best bar cruisers.
Yes riding drunk is not good. Yes I probably need help. Yes yes yes. But I am not responsive to these suggestions so help me out.
j
P.S. I wasn't on my fixie, but it seems like the singlespeeders are the party people of the bike world thus my posting in this forum

humancongereel

if you have that much trouble doing it, i would say the best thing is to not do it. that, or get used to injury and have a p.o.s. bike for taking to the bar, and be ready for anything to happen.

but if you have that much trouble, i'd say don't do it. taxi it up.

alaska

drink at home

-=(8)=-

Doing anything drunk was too natural to me.
I only drove a car when I was too drunk to walk.
Same thing on a bike. Im 10 years sober but I
would say if it hurts to bang yer head against the wall,
stop banging yer head against the wall !

evictionsurplus

Do taxis take kindly to cramming a road bike in their trunk? Quick releases or not?

cardstock

yeah, just stay off the bike if you cant get on. And if you are really that ****ed up when you are riding home from the bar, you are going to get alot more ****ed up. That is why drunk drivers get in accidents. Most states have laws against riding drunk as well, so if you get hit while you are riding home, you probably wont have much of an insurance claim and you can probably get sued by the driver for any damages.

youth

+1

drinking at home is cheaper (by FAR... i've learned this the hard way), faster, better, and you can be more roudy and not have to worry about making it home safe

humancongereel

good advice right there.

chivespa1

yeah, i've gotten into too much trouble to find drinking worth the consequences anymore, so i don't "bang my head against the wall" anymore. with that in mind though....two things. One is - take a taxi or walk, the other is - almost every state in the US considers a bicycle a legal vehicle which, if you are drunk and riding, you will get a DUI and it will be just as expensive and un-fun as if you were in a car. Likewise, if you're drunk and knock someone over on your bicycle and they get injured or killed then it is just as serious as if you were in a motor vehicle. If you are still having fun partying then keep on keepin' on but do yourself and everyone else a favor and stay off your bike afterwards....

humancongereel

??

BLACKMARKET

buy one if these.

baldylocks

Umm... yeah, pretty much.

Moximitre

training wheels?

carleton

Dude, if you live close enough to bike home drunk, then $15 should be enough to get you to and from the bar via taxi. Then if you get somebody to ride with you, it's even cheaper.

Man, I hate riding home at the time of night when bars close. Too dangerous.

treechunk

A friend of mine was biking down the street when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him. He went around the back of the ped, and proceeded to NAIL the guy when he stepped backwards suddenly. Dude hit his head HARD on the pavement. My buddy called 911, waited for the police and ambulance and was told by the police to go home. He really doesn't know what happened to the guy, but things really didn't look so good. It is very believable that one could be killed because they were struck by a bicycle.

eyefloater

You think you couldn't kill someone by hitting them w/ a bike? I had a friend who died from falling off his skateboard just riding down the street (hit some gravel, hit his head on a concrete median, done). The force of a rider + bike hitting someone at even a half-decent speed is easily enough to cause serious injury.

I'm responding to two question marks here, so I'm sorry if I'm completely off base. I just think people take riding drunk too lightly a lot of the time and think that because they're not behind the wheel of a car they're free from anything serious happening (to them or someone else).

Ill Mitch

well if you're drunk enough to not be able to mount your bike, chances are you're gonna be riding all over the road anyways regardless of what bike your on, and if a cop sees you riding like that they're gonna stop you regardless of the laws.

humancongereel

nah, i've just never heard of anyone being killed by a bike. i tend to think of it as non-lethal transportation (unless a car comes careening into the picture). maybe i'm wrong thinking bicycles can't kill people. i'm still thinking it's probably very highly unlikely, though.

these anecdotes are the first i've ever heard of such things. sort of interesting.

bbattle

Dude, drink at home. Or get a taxi ride. If you're riding a bike drunk, think of the guys you'll be trying to navigate past that are also drunk. Except they are in big SUV's, not bikes. Or they are driving taxis and just don't give a ***** if they hit you.

Jimbobunyons

I would say you really cant learn to ride a bike drunk...

you can try to get better at balance/ coordination things when intoxicated... but there isnt some secret trick to riding drunk.

if you cant control yourself, do everyone a huge favor and call a taxi.

skelly

just stop drinking or slow down a while before you go home. kinda like if you were driving, but you wouldn't have to be sober, just sober enough not to crash into ****. if you can't control yourself that much, just walk home or deal with the injuries like a real drunk.

evictionsurplus

I truly wish I could get a good pic of the contousion on my thigh. It is really one for the medical books. The sad thing is that I have no idea how it happened. Ray Davies quote "oh demon alcohol, sad memories I can't recall". Muswell Hillbillies, an album I highly recommend

Thanks for all the sage advice from all. Taxi cabs from here on. Maybe that or I will chill on the boozing. No, taxis sound like more fun.
j

The LT

get one of these

Accident

no way...that's just boring/depressing.
regarding biking drunk, try a coastable bike so if you get too loaded, you'll always have a push scooter; just keep your body on one side of the bike and skate it around

mrbertfixy

you have to train for that ****. spend a few weeks getting blackout drunk and don't try to ride you bike. hopefully you can raise your tolerance enough to ride while not quite blackout drunk.