alcohol and racing

disco1 · 07-07-2015 8:14pm #1

Intresting topic.

How many people here would enjoy a couple of drinks at weekend or whenever and still do a bit of racing or maintain very good fitness. Be it beer or wine, at home or a trip to the pub on a Sunday.
Would be intresting to hear peoples thoughts, tee total-ers can refrain from adding their six pence worth.

Thanks.

AstraMonti · 07-07-2015 8:20pm

A couple of drinks at a weekend is perfectly fine and studies have shown that casual alcohol consumption lowers the stress levels.

Eamonnator · 07-07-2015 8:24pm

Rule 47:

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#29

OleRodrigo · 07-07-2015 8:29pm

disco1 wrote: »

Intresting topic.

How many people here would enjoy a couple of drinks at weekend or whenever and still do a bit of racing or maintain very good fitness. Be it beer or wine, at home or a trip to the pub on a Sunday.
Would be intresting to hear peoples thoughts, tee total-ers can refrain from adding their six pence worth.

Thanks.

' Interesting topic ( as long as you agree with me ) '

Sounds like the logic of a drunk.

07-07-2015 8:36pm

Totally ruins motivation the next day for me. YMMV

ford2600 · 07-07-2015 8:38pm

I don't see anything wrong with a few beers every so often, other than for me how it effects my sleep.

AstraMonti · 07-07-2015 8:38pm

Well I assumed a couple of drinks.. means... max two. Two drinks over the weekend or a saturday night are fine.

smacl · 07-07-2015 8:38pm

disco1 wrote: »

Intresting topic.

How many people here would enjoy a couple of drinks at weekend or whenever and still do a bit of racing or maintain very good fitness. Be it beer or wine, at home or a trip to the pub on a Sunday.
Would be intresting to hear peoples thoughts, tee total-ers can refrain from adding their six pence worth.

Thanks.

I don't cycle competitively but used to compete regularly in martial arts at quite a high level. No booze or crap food for two months before a big event was the way we used to do it. It's not so much the direct detrimental effects, as the weight and the fact if you're hungover or have had a very late night, you're liable to lose the next days training. Post event we'd go absolutely rasher for a week or so and then start again.

These days, my main beef with beer is weight, though I typically have the beers and just suffer badly on the hills as a result. I'm up about 10kg over the last 10 years, which I'd guess is also thanks to the beer. (Jeez this is depressing, where's my beer?)

SummerRebel · 07-07-2015 8:39pm

A little bit of whiskey never hurt anyone, especially after a though stage in the Alps.

C3PO · 07-07-2015 8:57pm

I work and train hard ..... I deserve a few beers at the weekend!

magicbastarder · 07-07-2015 9:07pm

so people don't cycle specifically to compensate for the beer they're drinking?

disco1 · 07-07-2015 9:07pm

Intresting..

I work shift some times 8 or 9 days in a row . When it comes to my days off I usually think about beer and cycling.
If I was having a few beers I'd have maybe 4 , this does make me tired next day for heading out on a bike, or course you could head out on a bike then have a drink that night but then again tiredness gets you the following day.
How would 4 drinks affect fitness in one week if you eat good but at the same time are putting in perhaps 50 hours working.

Hard to get the balance right.

CramCycle · 07-07-2015 9:51pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

so people don't cycle specifically to compensate for the beer they're drinking?

Oddly enough I drink alot less since I stopped racing.

comete · 07-07-2015 10:28pm

I'd drink maybe 4-6 bottles of beer a week, in fact I'm sipping one right now.

kenmc · 07-07-2015 11:08pm

AstraMonti wrote: »

Well I assumed a couple of drinks.. means... max two. Two drinks over the weekend or a saturday night are fine.

you're here long enough to know better than that!

Beer is circa 95% water, a vital rehydration source after racing or training. And the other 5% counteracts the adrenaline, and is largely carbohydrate, so win win win.

Although to be fair, from the thread title I thought you were talking about having a couple of beers BEFORE a race. Like after sign on. Probably explains a large chunk of A4 behaviour

Unknown Soldier · 07-07-2015 11:56pm

I don't race but I do a lot of cycling and alcohol.

Not sure what reply should be.

Amprodude · 08-07-2015 12:10am

Studies have shown that alcohol after a hard training session is ideal for recovery. I usually have a bottle then.

The tax man · 08-07-2015 12:22am

My sig says it all.:D

arybvtcw0eolkf · 08-07-2015 12:23am

I've often raced to the off license before it closes at ten just to work up a thirst.

Then next morning I'm like 'Dammit Lenny you'd better sweat out those beers you had last night' & race everyone on the Malahide Road in the AM.

eeeee · 08-07-2015 12:28am

Yep, track mainly. Train 5 days a week depending on what I'm doing and race at least one day per week. Don't drink every week, but take my jar o brandy out every couple of weeks in summer, every week in winter. I don't drink as often as I used to, but I reckon that's just an age + accumulation of sense and inability to be totally fine the next day. But a few drinks does me no harm anyway. To each their own.

lennymc · 08-07-2015 6:17am

Laurel Fat Stake wrote: »

I've often raced to the off license before it closes at ten just to work up a thirst.

Then next morning I'm like 'Dammit Lenny you'd better sweat out those beers you had last night' & race everyone on the Malahide Road in the AM.

Then I say "How the hell did you get in here, and how do you know I had beers last night?"

I tried alcohol and racing once, but I kept spilling it when sprinting.

Although it is a great recovery drink. I like to recover.

I do find that if I drink alcohol there isnt a hope of me getting on the bike the next day, so I have started taking the odd N/A beer, which is nice.

Tenzor07 · 08-07-2015 8:24am

I guess it depends on how serious you are about racing.

Alcohol can affect your sleep, and mean you're playing catch up during the week on lost sleep. Can also affect your weight as not only are there empty calories in the alcohol, it can also cause you eat more, usually bad carbs/fats by changing your appetite.

I would imagine that in road racing, people would limit alcohol until the end of the season? (if there is such a thing!?)

odyssey06 · 08-07-2015 8:35am

Radler should be your new friend...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandy#Radler

smacl · 08-07-2015 8:41am

magicbastarder wrote: »

so people don't cycle specifically to compensate for the beer they're drinking?

Actually, yes.

daragh_ · 08-07-2015 11:15am

Drinking doesn't really fit with Racing for me. Mostly because it disrupts my sleep. And because I'm old (45) it takes me longer to recover.

Night before a league race - never
Night before training - rarely
Coming up to an open race - usually no alcohol for at least a week, usually longer.

After a race - 'Beer is wonderful, give me bucket' (falls asleep after 1)

I do like Bavaria N/A. Radler is too sweet.

My other half thinks I'm a dry ****e

Hmmzis · 08-07-2015 11:38am

Somehow the more I race and/or train the less alcohol my body can tolerate. If I would drink a pint of any odd beer right now I'd feel very tipsy and would have a massive hangover the next day. That of course would impact my racing performance and/or training plan. While up to about high tempo intensity is somewhat tolerable going towards threshold or VO2max becomes impossible to do.

During the winter months when intensity of training is low or non-existant then it would take 3-4 pints to get me to that same tipsy stage.

Now ice cream is a completely different story. During the racing season I can eat tons of that stuff and the more I race and train the more I eat it. Helps with keeping the weight loss in check and it's sooo tasty. I don't crave it in the winter much.

carltonleon · 08-07-2015 12:44pm

The question is does cycling get in the way of drinking alcohol or does alcohol get in the way of cycling ?? The answer is neither ... simply put your beer in your water bottles and problem solved, you can do both ; )

disco1 · 08-07-2015 2:17pm

Yes it seems it makes training harder and racing much much harder.

FirstinLastout · 08-07-2015 4:04pm

I ride single speed MTB events.
We drink before, during and after a race; but it's okay 'cause its a level playing field.
It's the cheats that slyly don't drink!!
With regular events etc I find it curtails my natural awesomeness giving other lesser riders a chance.

Bloggsie · 08-07-2015 4:59pm

daragh_ wrote: »

Drinking doesn't really fit with Racing for me. Mostly because it disrupts my sleep. And because I'm old (45) it takes me longer to recover.

Night before a league race - never
Night before training - rarely
Coming up to an open race - usually no alcohol for at least a week, usually longer.

After a race - 'Beer is wonderful, give me bucket' (falls asleep after 1)

I do like Bavaria N/A. Radler is too sweet.

My other half thinks I'm a dry ****e

erdinger unleaded is probably the only unleaded beer that actually tastes like real beer IMHO.

dermabrasion · 08-07-2015 5:02pm

I find a decent or even hard spin is a great way blow off any cobwebs. But hangovers wreck training and I can't race after a couple of beers. So, I find racing a fairly good way to temper my enthusiasm for trying every crafty ale in the crafty beer shop.

alcohol and racing

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