Cycling and drinking, should we do it

[steve50]

t[UOTE="steve50, post: 3977726, member: 44061"]s. The main argument for cyclists in this thread is there are no records or statistics relating to cyclists and alcohol incidents so therefore it doesn't happen,a very blinkered view imo.

You can be sure there would be statistics if it did happen more than once in a blue moon.
Why not tackle well documented and known road safety issues rather than an issue which exists mainly in your head?[/QUOTE]

I don't have an "issue" with it, if you want to go out and get bolloxed then ride your bike thats your choice. I started this thread to see what the general consensus was regards drinking and then riding ones bike, the discussion has been very interesting,
It doesn't matter to me one way or another if you or anyone else wants to drink and ride or drink and drive your choice your funeral!
Oh and it doesn't "exist" in my head it is purely a topic for discussion but as usual theres always someone ready to snipe.

 

[MattDB]

Sorry to be blunt, but when did you last take a hazard perception test or training? Or maybe you're cycling in outer London?


There's a difference between "a few pints" and "unfit from drink". It's not black and white. The trouble with me cycling along country roads when too drunk would be that too many roads here are bordered by water-filled drains, and few motorists means I'd probably not be seen as I fell in - but the same applies to walking home too, taxis won't take drunks any more and I don't like sleeping rough, so I stop well short of getting that drunk. TTBOMK I've cycled while unfit once in my life (through a city, too!), I was accompanied and that was quite scary enough.

Firstly ridiculous point - nothing at all wrong with my hazard perception. If you read a recent publication on 'near misses' there are statistically a huge amount of 'non injury incidents' in the UK. It's not just me for whom the roads can be a dangerous place. If you haven't read this it's very interesting 'investigating the rates and impacts of near misses and related incidents among UK cyclists'.

Secondly yes, completely right, there's a big difference between a drink and being unfit to ride. I wasn't getting evangelical about it, I just choose not to drink if I'm cycling.

 

[glenn forger]

"your choice your funeral!"

What's your opinion of someone who used a pissoir in Amsterdam and found a vacuum-packed box of Dominican Magic Mushrooms on top of the cistern and necked them and fell off his bike on the way back to the hotel? Without mentioning death.

 

[Wolf616]

"your choice your funeral!"

At my funeral I want everyone to get really drunk and then cycle the wrong way down the M5 in a huge, bell tinkling peleton of sympathetic death

 

[mjr]

Firstly ridiculous point - nothing at all wrong with my hazard perception.

If you read a recent publication on 'near misses' there are statistically a huge amount of 'non injury incidents' in the UK. It's not just me for whom the roads can be a dangerous place. If you haven't read this it's very interesting 'investigating the rates and impacts of near misses and related incidents among UK cyclists'.

I do read stuff like the recent report from nearMiss.bike and I take part in things like the One Day Diary for that site, but there are an awful lot of "near miss" events which fall well short of "had to apply brakes sharply and swerve" so I think it's a fair question and I notice that no firm answer was given. It may be that you're cycling in a really hostile environment where it's unavoidable, but if I was taking such evasive action "so often", I'd want to just check myself in general, rather than simply forsake drink while cycling. After all, other things such as tiredness can slightly impair performance and that's harder to avoid.

 

[steve50]

"your choice your funeral!"

What's your opinion of someone who used a pissoir in Amsterdam and found a vacuum-packed box of Dominican Magic Mushrooms on top of the cistern and necked them and fell off his bike on the way back to the hotel? Without mentioning death.

Lucky guy, was the packet labeled, did he know what he was taking, i for one would not have taken the risk not knowing what was in the package even if it was labeled.
he must have had a hell of a trip.

 

[glenn forger]

It was sealed, as it comes from the shop. I know the shop it came from. I mean the bloke in the story did.

 

[slowmotion]

Well it's nearly the weekend, maybe we should create test groups and all go out Saturday night and report back our findings (if possible!)

We'll need a test group drinking nothing, and then several others at different levels of inebriation to compare.

We may need to split up further to account for those of us living in rural/urban areas, roads/trails and just for good measure probably a mix of helmets/no helmets lights/no lights

What about headphones and hi-viz?

 

[Yazzoo]

I don't know if we have enough members to even have one representing each variable in each category - we may have to recruit

 

[glenn forger]

You need to get a bloke and dress him in hi vis and give him booze and magic mushrooms and a bike. I can't do Tuesdays.

 

[steve50]

It was sealed, as it comes from the shop. I know the shop it came from. I mean the bloke in the story did.[/QUOTE

Each to their own, the only drug I partake in is alcohol................. in moderation. I'm not surprised you / he fell of his bike though, magic mushrooms are an halucinagenic I believe. He must have been in a very strange place at the time...........

 

[Tin Pot]

At my funeral I want everyone to get really drunk and then cycle the wrong way down the M5 in a huge, bell tinkling peleton of sympathetic death

What a coincidence! At my funeral I want the mourners to die too, but by drone strike.

 

[Hip Priest]

I cycled home after about 8 pints once. Probably a bit extreme and not very sensible, but hey, it was only 5 miles. I could feel myself weaving about. Thankfully it was late and there were few cars on the road, but the ones that did probably had a good laugh.

Before anyone criticises me, I was wearing a helmet and had lights front and rear.

 

[MattDB]

I do read stuff like the recent report from nearMiss.bike and I take part in things like the One Day Diary for that site, but there are an awful lot of "near miss" events which fall well short of "had to apply brakes sharply and swerve" so I think it's a fair question and I notice that no firm answer was given. It may be that you're cycling in a really hostile environment where it's unavoidable, but if I was taking such evasive action "so often", I'd want to just check myself in general, rather than simply forsake drink while cycling. After all, other things such as tiredness can slightly impair performance and that's harder to avoid.

Apologies if I overreacted Yes definitely I've been on several commuter courses - the last course was an advanced commuter training course run by 'go smarter to work'. If anything goes wrong I do have a long think about what I could have done differently. Saying that I've lived in Bristol, Plymouth and Southampton and commuted by bike for the past 8 years but since moving to Gateshead and committing to Newcastle I've never seen anything like the roads or the drivers here. Yesterday a driver put his foot down as I crossed a junction and swung left in front of me - cue emergency stop. Minutes earlier a driver approached a junction quickly and pulled out into the cycle lane before stopping in front of me, causing me to swerve. Yes some things can be anticipated but I feel like I have a lot of scary incidents here.

 

[slowmotion]

t[

At my funeral I want everyone to get really drunk and then cycle the wrong way down the M5 in a huge, bell tinkling peleton of sympathetic death

Couldn't you just invite them to join you in a game of Sardines at the crematorium?