boomhauer

My tours have turned into small town bars. Too much Social Liberating Influence. I love getting out of the city but I forgot what touring was about. Too much Social Liberating Influence. Got to go back into the woods!

Walter S

Alcohol dehydrates me. I already have hydration challenges on warm weather trips. And even short of a full fledged hang over, I don't like the feeling that it gives me in the morning. I find relaxation and recreation in some much more lightweight substances that seem better for touring.

xilios

We always (when possible) get a couple of beers or a bottle of wine with our dinner. But never during the day, we tried having a beer once on a hot day and it took quite a while to get our legs back

staehpj1

Yeah, the dehydration issues can be a problem even without drinking alcohol and I agree about the feeling the next morning. I figure that I glass of wine with dinner once in a while isn't likely to be a problem though. More than a sip or so of hard liquor definitely would be for me.

I wonder if any of those who say they drink larger amounts of alcohol are knocking out long days, day after day, in hot weather, on long tours. It sounds like a bad idea to me, but I guess maybe some are acclimated to it.

Ekdog

I adore drinking beer (moderately) while touring, and I don't believe it's dehydrating. In fact, studies show it may well be better than water at quenching one's thirst.

A pint of beer is better for you after a workout than water, say scientists | Daily Mail Online

andrewclaus

I noted in the study that both groups were allowed to drink water after the post-exercise quaff, implying to me that beer and water is good, but maybe not beer instead of water. The article concludes:

"...if you are already hydrated, a small amount of beer could be a way of getting the fluid in."

The best way of rehydrating after exercise was with a sports drink containing sugars, water and salt, he added."

So is the article reporting that beer is better than water alone, but water with sugars and salt is better than beer with water?

indyfabz

I have encountered people who drink during the day. A couple of them were relatively heavy drinkers. Don't know how they did it. I was riding with some friends in Italy last year. A couple of times we stopped for lunch and the waiters were very surprised that my GF and I did not want any wine with our meals. I just can't do it. Totally kills my motivation. In hot weather it would be even worse.

Walter S

Unfortunately I've made the mistake of finding myself very very dehydrated after a night with much alcohol. The more alcohol the worse it is. So for me personally, what people say about the matter doesn't matter much. I wish I didn't know so well what doesn't work for me but I've had to relearn it from time to time just to be sure.

Ekdog

No one is proposing that we rely solely on beer for hydration and drink no water at all.

indyfabz

A couple members of my x-country group, myself included, usually knocked back our share of beers doing about 60 miles/day. One guy was 76 years old. We used to joke that he came on the trip because his wife wouldn't let him drink at home. Another guy was pretty much an alcoholic who sometimes got drunk on the road. He almost got arrested in Fargo, ND. IIRC, he was drunk in a bar and was hitting on a woman who happened to be an off-duty state trooper. Then he crashed on the way back to camp. Near the end of the trip, he got drunk in his tent in the morning of a day off, went for a ride later and crashed again, this time fracturing his collar bone. He still managed to finish the trip.

The rest of us who drank did so over a length of time, so we usually didn't get hammered. I'm talking 4-5 beers over a space of many hours. And on very hot and humid days I'd say fewer beers were consumed on average. One notable exception was a night in Rugby, ND. We camped at a place that also had motel rooms. There was a group of archaeology grad students staying in the motel. They were working at the site of a pipeline dig where some Native American relics had been found. There was noting to do in the evenings so they would sit around outside and party. A couple of us stayed up past midnight with them and woke up with raging hangovers. After breakfast at the local greasy spoon, one guy got on his bike and rode off for several miles in the wrong direction. We yelled for him but the wind was already blowing and he couldn't hear us. I thought that day would never end. Riding into a stiff, ND headwind is no fun when you are in that sort of shape.

3speed

Yeah, I'll finish 8oz of scotch on my own in the course of the night, and not have a hangover at all the next day. A bottle of water and a couple swigs from the flask when we make it to camp, set up camp, gather fire wood, a couple more swigs, settle in to cook dinner and chill out for a few more hours and sip the flask, and at least 1 more bottle of water after dinner/before bed. It makes for a nice evening. 2oz of scotch/hour over the course of an evening isn't a crazy amount, and I hydrate well. Hell, a lot of Wisconsinites just consider a few mixed drinks or craft beers their warm-up for the evening... Some of you must be from dry southern counties?

And yeah, we usually do ~50-60mi/day. The last tour kept that up for ~1,100mi, casually drinking ~1/2 of the nights without problems maintaining our mileage. I can't say that I feel any ill effect the next day as long as we aren't getting hammered and not hydrating after riding all day. It sounds like some of you need to hydrate more regardless of drinking alcohol. Remember, if your pee isn't clear and you don't have to stop fairly often to go, you probably need more water.

boomhauer

I tried going over a mountain pass in Nevada (Eastgate wash) after having several beers and pool games with the bar owner. It didn't work well. No beer until the day is done.

Rumpled

This thread reminds me that I need to buy one of those bottle cages that can carry a growler.

sam21fire

My wife and I use Platypus PlatyPreserve bags... 750 ml bags designed for carrying wine. They weigh almost nothing and because they're soft they can be squeezed into odd shaped corners of a pannier. The bags seem to be pretty sturdy, never had a leak, and they are collapsible so you can squeeze the air out and reduce the size as you consume the liquid. I haven't tried them with hard liquor but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. Oh, and they're BPA free.

Sam

Louis Le Tour

I like the way you think!

Louis Le Tour

Yeah, modern science has pretty proven that Scotch is good for bullet wounds and arms caught in a rock!