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Hi
I say racers but anyone with any experience is welcome to chip in 🙂
But I know most guys/gals who race are teetotal for the season
How much of a difference does giving up booze make to your cycling then?
I like a drink, and probably drink too much according to guidelines although Im not a breakfast or afternoon Tennats merchant yet
I usually feel fine on the bike and Im really not worried about my drinking on the whole
But Ive entered the Dragon ride with my fit roadie mate this year and its looking scary so any advantage I can find would be good
I could knock booze on the head if it gave me a definite advantage on the bike
But the thing is Im pretty happy mashing in the saddle for 5-6h at a decent pace and I actually do enjoy a drink which I would miss even if as I say I could drop it if I wanted to
So is a couple of pints and 1/2 a bottle of wine at the weekend and the odd beer or 2 on weekday nights likely to be slowing me down that much?
And would I feel quicker if I quit completely?
Cheers - I have the Hobnobs and comfy chair ready for this one but am currently hoovering a Becks whilst cooking 🙂
Not worth it if you are just doing a sportive ...!
Knocking it on the head for a bit (a few days???) before would not be a bad idea. You liver can then get on with doing the stuff that allows you to ride rather than dealing with alcohol.
your'e going too deep!
my pre ride (night before) preparation involves 8 cans o' magners 😯
works for keilder, gisburn, ring o kerry etc. 😀
It seems to have a noticeable effect on me for around 3 days
My mates best marathon results (55th out of around 400) were on a massive hangover after a big party at his house. We tried that twice and on both occasions he was close to the top 60. He was quick back then so maybe shows that if You are quick then You are quick sober or with a hangover. I always tried to get a good night sleep before a race and stuff my face with pasta the night before. But where's the fun in that? If You're not getting shit faced every day on the booze I would imagine that it won't make such a big difference if You drink a beer or two the day before.
If I was racing I'd not touch any. However I'm no pro, but my thinking has always been that my body will have enough to do and asking it to cope with alchol isn't going to help matters.
mieszko that's totally flying in the face of convention, to run your quickest times hungover must be unique to your mate. Anyone I've seen giving it the berries even mildy hungover soon honks.
I would imagine back to back tests would show you'd be quicker sober.
But hey that's me, my take on drinking is much the same as smoking.
further to my earlier post, i forgot to mention that my personal 'preparation' also got me a 4th place at the 2010 ssec 😀
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small print - alongside 200 others!
fatmuthahubbard off here won the biffers' night race at BBB 2010 whilst he was about five pints into a good evening. On a singlespeed. I was sober and only came 3rd.
julianwilson - Member
fatmuthahubbard off here won the biffers' night race at BBB 2010 whilst he was about five pints into a good evening. On a singlespeed. I was sober and only came 3rd.
proof if ever it were needed! 😛
I would never drink for a few days before a race. If it's a big event (for me) I'd not drink for a while, maybe a week or two. I also cut back on coffee as then the caffeine gels work MUCH better.
The biggest difference I notice not drinking is how easy is it is to lose weight and stay at that weight.
But, I don't drink much anyway and would have to think quite hard to remember the last time I actually had an alcoholic drink... I used to drink a lot as a student but then I was occasionally still drunk in the morning. That made things tough.
In my racing days I was teetotal and can't say I noticed a difference. My brother in law last year was teetotal and did well at races. This year he is training less and drinking and even as far to say he would have a Guinness or two before a race day and he says his times have improved. I think it depends on the individual and how much you drink
Edit. I find diet choice a bigger issue than drink.
I haven't drunk for over a year now. Don't think it's made much direct difference to my racing. I had to cut it out because it stopped me training effectively really. Given that I was drinking on Friday and Saturday nights, and doing most training Saturday / Sunday, it sort of made me give up the booze.