geoduck

Yeah, I said it; beer during a ride! Sure, anybody can partake after a ride, but it takes a true soldier to drink 'n' ride!

Last weekend, a friend and I did a short loop from Martinez, CA (SF Bay Area) out to a little dead-end town on the water called Port Costa. There appear to be three commercial businesses in Port Costa: a bar, a restaurant, and a post office.

We found the pub at the end of the main drag, facing the Carquinez Straits section of San Pablo Bay, just across the railroad tracks. This bar had great atmosphere: it is in the bottom story of a 100+ year old building (attached to the post office), and they serve a few selections of tap beer in 14-ounce canning jars.

The real splendid bit is ordering off of the bottled beer menu: OVER 400 BEERS! Being in Northern California, all the usual suspects were accounted for in terms of local microbrews, but they had many selections in 22-ounce bottles, and scores of European imports.

The best part was how you order the beer: all the bottled stuff is stored in coolers spaced throughout the bottom story of this building. So, following signs, you find the cooler you want, pick out your beer, and go pay for it. Then, drink it in the bar or go drink it outside.

For the record, we each had a jar of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and split a 22-ouncer of Moylan's Kilt Lifter. Tasty! Just the thing to get us back home. Most of the rest of the ride is along a road overlooking the Straits, closed to vehicle traffice because it is slowly sliding into the ocean. Total distance is something like 12 miles, maybe 1,000 total feet of climbing.

Nearly all my cycling is off-road, and I wouldn't want to get too schnockered before riding in traffic, but in this case it really hit the spot.

What about y'all? Any good stories about drinking and riding?

Avalanche325

Your free vasectomy coupon is in the mail.

geoduck

Too late, procreation complete, sir.

seely

Double deuce? Bring on the forty! I don't drink and ride, but I have been known to use my 100oz Camelbak backpack to sneak beverages into stadiums, concerts, etc. Actually I take it back, on the REALLY cold days in the winter we sometimes put a couple shots of tequilla in our Camelbaks to "keep them from freezing" yeah... freezing... thats it...

Rowan

Got to the 250km mark on a toughish 300km randonnee. The stop point was in a town with a pub. I had an overwhelming need for: (1) A beer; (2) A lemonade, in that order. The pub obliged. The beer was ice cold and was like nectar. So was the lemonade. Contrasts in taste and very satisfying.

lrzipris

As a public defender (representing indigent criminal defendants), whose clients include people charged with DUI, I apologize if I appear negative, but I would like to add, as a tangent, that in Pennsylvania, where I live, work, and ride, a bicycle is a "motor vehicle" for DUI purposes. So be careful out there, folks.

Swimjim

Hey that sounds like a great place. I don't normally drink during rides. However, when I'm on vacation and doing a Bike Florida or a SAGBRAW which are week long rides I've been known to stop for a cold one.
As one previous poster points out, as far as the law is concerned a bicycle is just another motor vehicle and they will haul you away on a DUI rap. So do it responsibly.
Save a Guiness for me!

Cheers

Jim

Juha

I have had mixed experiences. Sometimes it's exactly what you need (as described by previous posters), but I almost managed to mess up a double metric century weekend once.

I was already a good 70 kms into it when I decided to visit a roadside pub in a small village. Had one beer (0,5l) which turned out to be a mistake. As I started riding again general fatigue set in, forcing me to stop soon at the nearest service station. I knew there was a nice cafeteria further down the road, but I could not continue. I had to eat a sandwich, drink soft drinks and rest for more than half an hour before I felt good enough to tackle the final 20kms. I don't blame the beer alone, there was obviously something wrong with my fuel intake in general.

I arrived to my destination and had a great party with lots of beer later that evening. I did not feel too hot the next morning, but hesitantly set on the bike. The ride back was an absolute joy. I even took a 15km detour to check out a beautiful backroad, and enjoyed every minute of it. Weird.

--J

giant99

My brother was stoped for being loaded on a bike. The cop said if he locked the bike up and walked everything would be ok. My brother said he would walk the bike home and not ride it. The cop said know becuse it was care and control and he could still be charged.

shokhead

Beer,yak. Gag me. Cant stand the smell of it.

WorldWind

Plenty of times, but they aren’t bear during a ride, they are riding your bike to the brewery or pub to drink bear.

Some of the best outings were with friends that didn’t race but wanted to come on a ride.

We would meet up at the Exploritorium parking lot and ride through the Presidio over the Golden Gate and up the bay through Sausalito, around the edge of Richardson Bay across to El Campo and out to Tiburon.

Of course you had to do something while you waited for the fairy to Angle Island and if it was a warm sunny day Beer was the drink of choice. If it was cold and foggy, then espresso and shots of brandy were in order.

Angle Island allows bicycles and has a very nice bike path all around it’s perimeter.

This ride is all very flat and easy, a very good ride along for a novice and a way to get to know someone and gauge their bike handling skills, while being scenic and enjoyable for seasoned riders.

MichaelW

There used to be a high degree of overlap in the membership of my local cycle club and the Real Ale Society. After one member passed on (not bike related), we opened a memorial bike rack, outside his favourite pub.
Its std practice for touring rides to stop off for a pint at lunchtime and I don't know of anyone who has come to any harm. This is quite different to the case of someone riding whilst completely blatted out of their mind. I can ride a bike on 1 pint, but I would never get behind the wheel of a car, nor would I ride anything too technical, like a big mulit-hairpin mountain descent.

Portis

That sounds far too sensible and fun to happen in America.


Beer is a favorite libation of mine. However, much like S.E.X., i really don't like to mix it with riding. Each has it's place but I don't mix them. Ride bike in the morning, Beer at night, and S.E.X. every total Solar Eclipse.

Swimjim

Yeah, mixing sex with a bike ride could be dangerous. You might fall off. Think of the road rash! Ahhh!

Jim

ajkloss42

I find the carbonation in beer to be a bit annoying while riding. In summer, if I'm in the mood to drink and ride, I prefer white russians or painkillers in a polar bottle. In the other 9 months of the year a bit of scotch or irish can take the edge out of the wind/rain or whatever ails me during a late-night ride. I vaguely remember once riding with a plastic to-go cup from a party pinched between my teeth with some rum concoction in it. I recall thinking that worked surprisingly well, just a tip of the head back to get a nip. The consequences were unpleasant though.

CMcMahon

I may have ridden ramps on a few occasions after drinking.

ngateguy

when getting ready for my fist STP we did a ride where we rode for 10 miles drank a beer, rode 10 miles drank a beer etc. we never really even got a buzz going. I have been known to have a beer on my commute home. Rarely do I do it on my weekend rides.

junioroverlord

blasphemer!

Rowan

Not of drinking age, yet, shokhead?

midwestmntnbkr

One in every crowd...

Anyway, I used to ride regularly with a local club that on their jerseys it said "ride some where have a beer, and ride back" That pretty much sums up their motto. It was a fun group to hang with. I haven't ridden with them for a while though. Schedule conflicts and things.

HereNT

I quite often have beer in my bag. Jameson is better for fuel. Burns quicker, less bloat. Lighter per calorie, too.

There's a guy on our Sat ride that has a handlebar beer cozy... Basically a cup holder style thing with insulation and a handlebar mount. He drinks while he rides... But it's actually while he's riding, not stopping somewhere. Most of the rest of everyone on that ride has to put liquor in their bottles if they want to drink while moving... Although I have seen one rider take a beer from someone's bag and hand it to them. Probably a recipe for disaster.

Mtn Mike

I do recall you and I stopping at a Seattle pub to put down a few during that Saturday ride last spring
here's to beer and biking

catatonic

I drink after the ride....like now....Steel Reserve....cheap and potent!

iceratt

I used to like Delerium Tremens, until I had two at The Bryant Lake Bowl, after work, then got on my bike to ride home. Riding drunk is no fun for us lightweights.

PWRDbyTRD

cryogenic got hammered off some mixed drinks and cycled home