Alcohol and MTB

Ha Ha HSM that is quite a cool name for something health, I did eight months off the piss when I was 23(maybe). I ended up at a big day out sober and because I had free hands my mate made me carry his beers, I drank them and a day in the sun and eight months off the piss will get you smashed quite quickly.

Now this will annoy people but I have found riding after a couple of drinks makes you a better rider. It makes you look further ahead to compensate for your slowed reaction times, if you continue doing this while riding sober you will be faster.
Alcohol, it heals your wounds and makes you awesome!
 
indica said:
Apparently the wife n I are doing a dry July thing.
Starting tomorrow so we can get pissed for our 7th anniversary on the 20th July....

Hmm, will be interesting.
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Let me know how that goes....the no alcohol thing, not the 7th celebrations. Some images I don`t want in my head.
Does this mean you two will have the 7 year itch to scratch? As MTBers it can only be eased by buying new bikes you know.
Traditionally 7th anniversary gifts are either copper or wool. Maybe you could make a copper still to brew your own vodka for the next month to celebrate with and maybe get your beloved some warm woolen thermals so she can get out ridding on cold days with strange bearded blokes while you recover from the surgeons knife attack?
Cheers
MH
 
I'm just an occasional drinker, so it is often 6-7 days a week I don't drink. After 20 years of triathlon it was really unusual to actually have any alcohol before a race. Every time I have I've basically screwed myself by starting in a state of dehydration.

In the MTB world a few drinks is even more acceptable and again for endurance racing for me anything more than 1 drink is detrimental for the race the next day. Often when you go away with a bunch you find yourself at a pub for dinner (they can be really good< especially the lamb shanks!) and a couple of beers can wash down really well! Now because I do actually like a drink, those first 2 just mean now I want more and of course some clown buys a bottle of red and now my race is looking really compromised :).

I've blown 3 races somewhat recently by succumbing to the evil temptations the night before. I blew the Back Yamma Bigfoot (100km) I was already sweating as I got out of the car before the race. My race companions were only doing the 50k and one had actually pulled out with a crook back so I think they set out to deliberately knobble me! Two schooners and 1 or 2 glasses of red does the job. Same thing happened one year at the Angry Doctor and another time at the Fling. I pulled out of the Angry Doctor at 50k and finished both the full Fling and the double Back Yamma Bigfoot but the times weren't that good. No real complaints though as they were good weekends away. Still, if I'm serious my rule is zero alcohol the night before and certainly no benders within a week before.
 
Mad Hatter said:
Let me know how that goes...
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Ahem.... may help me to lose a bit of weight too, which can only help when I do get back on the bike...I am hoping to be riding by the time the no alcohol thing is over.
Cheers for the "support"???? MH...
 
Drinking and riding bad.
Riding and drinking good.
Get it in the right order and with moderation its all good.
Cheers
MH
 
0psi said:
I'd put a wager on it that by the time you get to the end of it you probably won't want a drink.
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Tell you what though, five days in and I'm struggling!

fairy1 said:
Ha Ha HSM that is quite a cool name for something healthy...

Now this will annoy people but I have found riding after a couple of drinks makes you a better rider.
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Yeah but not high school musical! (as someone thought it was, DOH!) I gotta agree with the above though, I can jump better after a drink, possibly because I lose the fear or the ability of forsight for what could go wrong...
 
indica said:
Broken yet?
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NOPE! Working the bar tonight was dead and boring though... I'm the kind of person who will get completely determined to do something, so I don't doubt I'll be able to... however what WILL be interesting is my amount of whinging through it ;) in more exciting news, I've become my house Designated Driver :D
 
Good luck mate hang in there.
I found my head is clearer and my energy levels have already risen by living my life through your challenge.
Good work.
 
I don't get boozed very often but when I do it always seems to be the night before a race. At least racing dh you don't have to worry about hydration as much but concentration and motivation goes down a bit
 
Lasted a week and a half - put on weight when I stopped drinking... no real benefits at all.
 
After drinking every night for the last year or two: and I mean a double rum when I get home from work, two or three beers before dinner, and a couple of classes of wine after dinner, then waking up and supplementing my awareness with coffee and shit food, I started just feeling tired all the time. Even though I do about 40km a day commuting to and from work, when we went on a DH trip to rotorua, I felt like I spent a lot of the time just trying to survive, not thrive.
I'm coming towards the end of what I've dubbed NO-vember; Which means: No red meat or shit fast food, No caffeine, no booze, no special herbs of any kind.
The simple difference of not breaking a sweat the mere sight of a DH run, not cramping, having a clear head, feeling like I can put more energy into everything, and mostly: Developing a little respect for alcohol, has been well worth it.

The hardest part is getting past how much my social life revolves around booze. Yesterday it's raining all day, so everyones hanging out having heaps of drinks. Poker night; nowhere near as much fun without the booze, but good for my wallet! Post ride drinks. . . Also hard not to enjoy the rush of endorphins with a little amber ale. I'd much rather hang out with my boys drinking and talking shit than most things in life. It's just a good way to be, and I'll be looking at ways to promote non-drinking events, but I think it'll be a long road. Default hangout accessory: Booze.
 
Hugor said:
Hmmmm. I wasn't referring to riding under the influence.
I wouldn't do that either, well not off road anyway.
I have used my bike to get home from the pub many times. I ride carefully and never on the road at these times.
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you know its against the law to ride a bike under the influence...

true fact ^

and its illegal to ride on the footpath aswell
 
David56543 said:
you know its against the law to ride a bike under the influence...

true fact ^

and its illegal to ride on the footpath aswell
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In Perth there is a massive shortage of cabs. When you leave the pub you face waits of up to 2 hours and multiple fights with boozed up clowns who feel it is their right to claim the next cab that comes along regardless of the queue.
Perth also has a fantastic cycle path network which is completely separate from the road. I've never seen a booze bus on one of these and frankly am prepared to take my chances - you've gotta get home somehow.
I used to head out in the car with the bike in the back. When the night is over I've got my transport home and am usually a lot more sober too!
The morning ride back to the car is usually interesting too.
 
I don't really get the alcohol thing. It alarms me how many people use the argument that they can't relax/ have fun/ socialise without drinking. There are dead-pan arguments being made here about breaking the law because otherwise it'd make getting their drug of choice less convenient.
 
Shrekmeister said:
did you survive the 3 months....?
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Sure did! And wow it changes things hey... if anyone's interested in the details (not to spam; and no gun to your head!) check out my HSM blog. I've since gotten on of my very close mates on it, he's doing it for himself and for his young son to be a better role model; and since we've both inspired a couple of other mates to take it on :) I definitely underestimated the effect it would have on me!
I'm going out to shoot some pool tonight and taking the car, so I didn't ditch it straight up!
 
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