March 11, 2023
Today I rode a 44-mile bicycle route. That’s almost 70 miles shy of my longest ride ever in one day, but still, it was a challenging ride for me. I haven’t been on a long road ride in about 5 months, and the longest ride I did last year was about 67 miles. Today’s ride was fun but definitely a challenge.
A big difference for me now versus last year (and previous years, with few exceptions) is that I’m not drinking before, during, or after the ride. When I was drinking I would “carb up” the night before a long ride, usually with beer, sometimes with wine and pasta. Last night I had a Thai curry with some rice and a sparkling water. As it turns out, I was fine, and didn’t need to “carb up”.
Most times I wouldn’t drink during the ride, even when my drinking was at its worst. There were definitely some drunken rides, though…I’m just glad those days are behind me. It’s so not worth it to drink on a ride. You usually end up feeling overfull and/or nauseous, and you have to pee like every 20 minutes (no big problem if you’re biking in the mountains or country, big problem if you’re biking in town or the suburbs or while cars are zooming past on the road).
The biggest difference for me has been post-ride. In the past, I would drink after pretty much every ride, usually beer. I would be sore and twitchy from riding, and the beer would help alleviate those things. At the same time, though, the drunkenness would stimulate my appetite and I would eat everything within reach, snacking and drinking for hours after a ride. Now, I’m neither very hungry nor very thirsty (except for water) after a ride. And yes, I’m a little sore, but it’s more than manageable.
I bought some Clausthaler (NA beer) at the store on the way home from my ride today. I also bought some tortilla chips and fresh guacamole. I’ve been done with the ride for about two-and-a-half hours now, and besides water I’ve just had about 12 chips with guac, and one 12-oz. bottle of Clausthaler. That’s it. I’m full now. In my drinking days I would easily eat and drink six times that amount right after a long ride. And that isn’t counting the drunken “munchies” later on that night.
I think recovery is a healthier path for me in many ways. I definitely have proven to myself that alcohol is not necessary to have a good ride, nor is it necessary for healing my body after a long ride. Also, I still have the rest of the day, and don’t have to stress about “I’ll be too buzzed to [insert activity here] later on,” because I know I won’t be buzzed at all. I can enjoy my entire day.
Bike Newbie 