alcohol and racing

disco1

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

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

Eamonnator

Rule 47:

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

OleRodrigo

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.

Totally ruins motivation the next day for me. YMMV

ford2600

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

AstraMonti

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

smacl

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

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

C3PO

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

magicbastarder

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

disco1

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

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

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

kenmc

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

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

Not sure what reply should be.

Amprodude

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

The tax man

My sig says it all.:D

arybvtcw0eolkf

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

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

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

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

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

smacl

magicbastarder wrote: »

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

Actually, yes.

daragh_

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

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

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

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

FirstinLastout

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

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

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.

Bloggsie

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 know a fellow boardsie who "hydrates" and gets back in the saddle the following day. He is one crazy SOB!

eeeee

Actually thinking about it it's not the drinking that gets in the way for me but the smoking. Most of my friends smoke, and we always end up back in a house or studio so small room, several people smoking ugh. I feel that in the lungs for a week. It's gonna have to be a quiet August

irishrover99

i've just watched a video of tony martin and his team mates drinking wine with dinner after he won the other day so even the pro's do it, in moderation.
also seen lance armstrong talking about it before but he was more worried about the weight he would gain from wine rather than the physical effect.
i think wine and dinner go hand in hand with pro's on the grand tours

CramCycle

Bloggsie wrote: »

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

+1, most of the others taste quite sharp, whatever the process is, i can drink Erdinger NA but thats about it.

comete

I know for a fact a lot of pro riders drink more than just a glass of wine after dinner during a grand tour.

smacl

CramCycle wrote: »

+1, most of the others taste quite sharp, whatever the process is, i can drink Erdinger NA but thats about it.

I drink Becks NA when I'm off the beer, Erdinger the odd time but not a huge fan. Currently keeping Coord lite in the fridge, because it is such a boring tasteless beer, one can keeps me going for ages and I can rarely face a second.

ford2600

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/04/health/why-the-body-may-waste-the-calories-from-alcohol.html

Slightly off topic in that it's about heavy drinking rather than a glass of wine/beer but interesting. Originally posted below
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=96082353&postcount=77

SummerRebel

Hahaha I just read a funny story of the 1950 tour. It was so hot one of the stages that a member of the breakaway started taking drinks from the spectators at the side of the road. Mostly alcoholic drinks. Soon became drunk and passed out under a tree...

The most famous drunk in the Tour de France is without a doubt the Algerian Abdelkader Zaaf. In 1950 he escaped from the bunch in the burning heat of 40 degrees Celsius. In these conditions he couldn’t stop drinking. Now the story about what happened next isn’t completely clear. Some say he stopped to drink a bottle of wine, followed by a second one. Others say he just grabbed every kind of liquid the spectators alongside the road offered him. The result however was that Zaaf (a Muslim and not very used to alcohol) started to zigzag, until he decided to take a nap under a tree on the side of the road. Some spectators woke him up and he continued his way – unfortunately in the wrong direction. When spectators could explain him he was going the wrong way, he wanted to turn around. Too bad for the Algerian he was taken to the hospital for inspection. The legend says he escaped from there the next day and showed up for the next stage, however the Tour-direction wouldn’t let him start again. What is certain is that Zaaf was instantly a celebrity and was asked to ride plenty of criteriums (friendly races) for cold hard cash. Who says being drunk doesn’t pay off?!

Video of incident - See 1min30

Amprodude

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I guess it depends on how serious you are about

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

We aren't pros here but each to their own.

tigerboon

irishrover99 wrote: »

i've just watched a video of tony martin and his team mates drinking wine with dinner

so let that be a lesson

Idleater

tigerboon wrote: »

so let that be a lesson

Achieve something and celebrate it?

CramCycle

Amprodude wrote: »

We aren't pros here but each to their own.

Not with that attitude you won't be,

FISMA.

comete wrote: »

I know for a fact a lot of pro riders drink more than just a glass of wine after dinner during a grand tour.

I would expect one or two low alcohol drinks to be beneficial to most.

Also, with mileage junkies, that could take in a gallon of liquid on a ride, a bit of alcohol would help the gut.

As usual, everything in moderation.

killalanerr

For me as an older gent when I'm racing with the young bucks I have to get the hole package right,diet recovery and intensity and thats just to be average
I do enjoy a drink but we are talking 1,any time i over do the drink my performance suffers plus I put my weight loss down to cuting down on my alcohol intake. So unless you have a bags of natural talent if you want to go fast on a bike you need to cut out the drink IMO

Inquitus

killalanerr wrote: »

For me as an older gent when I'm racing with the young bucks I have to get the hole package right,diet recovery and intensity and thats just to be average
I do enjoy a drink but we are talking 1,any time i over do the drink my performance suffers plus I put my weight loss down to cuting down on my alcohol intake. So unless you have a bags of natural talent if you want to go fast on a bike you need to cut out the drink IMO

I have often had a bottle of wine on a Saturday night before a Sunday race and it never seemed to bother me, I had a podium the night after a communion when I was on the rip, I felt like ****, and it wasn't especially pleasant but it didn't seem to hamper performance too much.

I would agree that alcohol is full of empty calories and certainly makes weight management far more difficult, I would also agree that its a motivation killer, lets be honest you are unlikely to get up at 6am or 7am to go out training after a few beers. But I wouldn't say that in itself it hampers performance too much, at least in the amateur ranks of A4/3, but as stated the knock on effects do indirectly limit performance.

Just my 2c anyways.

daragh_

Inquitus wrote: »

I have often had a bottle of wine on a Saturday night before a Sunday race and it never seemed to bother me, I had a podium the night after a communion when I was on the rip.

> Rushes to off licence <

tigerboon

Inquitus wrote: »

I have often had a bottle of wine on a Saturday night before a Sunday race and it never seemed to bother me

It's always the second one that does the damage.

Amprodude

CramCycle wrote: »

Not with that attitude you won't be,

I know I will never be a pro but I'm happy with that. Can't be something I'm not.