Righto, you've finish a good evening ride, roosted to the max, made some ramblers eat dust and you've reached the pub to recover. Now lets add the crazy notion that you're going to have a pint of beer at some time.
But can the body do anything useful with it?
There's that magical 20 minutes when the body's meant to be taking on calories to top it's systems up. Does the body go hmm, beer, well it's calories so I might be able to something useful with it to aid recovery, or does it go bleaurgh! you're trying to poison me again!
So here's the actual question. You're going to drink two pints in the first hour after the ride. One is beer, the other water. Which one is the body going to appreciate the most first?

pfffftt.

I dont listen to my body talking when there's a pint in front of me.

Whenevr I have booze apres ride or any kind of excercise I feel like I have molten lead in all my veins and muscles the next day.

simple really, beer dehydrates you, you need to hydrate. your muscles need Protein after exercise, Beer contains no Protein.

I imagine, alcohol aside, that beer (ale) is pretty nutritious, there's almost certainly a helping of B vits in there. Sup up!

get a bag of nuts with your pint

sorted

i didn't realise there were other drinks than beer on an evening.

Belguim do a particularly tasty Sports Re-Hydration drink

why would you have water?
ive just spent the last two hours sipping the stuff from my camelbak.
besides its only 4-5% alcohol anyhow, thats 95-96% water

and three is the magic number.

Pork scratchings need a mention here. They're mostly protein I think.

Rehydrating alcoholic hoppy water, full of delicious calories and B vitamins, and a small bag of protein which happens to be coated in the salt and E numbers that you'll have sweated out during the ride. Perfecto.

Sounds like a plan!
A hushed silence fell on the pub last week when I asked for a diet coke for the first time 🙂

http://www.masterofbeer.co.uk/nutrition.htm

besides its only 4-5% alcohol

Jesus! Have some man's beer.

Plenty of antioxidants in beer – just what you need after a bike ride.

no, its crap as a recovery drink.

Alcohol inhibits muscle growth/repair, so in actual fact you will lose muscle mass if you excercise and drink. The high calorie content of beer means this muscle will probably be replaced by fat whilst you sleep it off. It also interfears with metabolism, hence why your legs feel like lead on the ride home.

Best thing is a glass of OJ and a protein shake, arround 24g of protein, anything else will just be pissed out.

Alcohol may itself be a diuretic, but its still a net intake of fluid. Unless you're going to drink 10 pints of it that is …

Beer and salted crisps = Isotonic

Best thing is a glass of OJ and a protein shake, arround 24g of protein

Yeah, you're really selling that concept….Beer vs protein shake…hmmmmmm

always a pint of water, a pint of ale and a packet of pork scratchings

anything else is for girls

i'll accept peanuts as an alternative to deep fried pork lard if they don't sell them or sell rubbish ones.

the golden hour after exercise is the best time for empty calories 🙂

Drink guiness, you'll be fine. Nutrients, minerals and muscle relaxant to stop you getting stiff.

simple really, beer dehydrates you, you need to hydrate. your muscles need Protein after exercise, Beer contains no Protein.

Why do you think all bars also sell nuts? 😉

jonb – Member

Drink guiness, you'll be fine. Nutrients, minerals and muscle relaxant to stop you getting stiff.

Jesus, remind me not to drink where you do 😛

A beer after a ride. It's one of life's pleasures.
If I can't have a beer after my ride I may choose to not ride……..
or have whiskey.

SB

jonb – Member
muscle relaxant to stop you getting stiff.

Do you have problems with getting stiff to easily.;o)

erdinger alkoholfrei. recognised as one of the best after sports recovery drinks going. they even sponsor a cycle team in germany.
of course, most of you probably think such a drink is heresy, but i love it personally. only 100 calories in a 500ml bottle too, and no crap thanks to the german purity laws applying to it in the same way as they do their alcoholic weissbiers.

spoon is right – drinking a beer after exercise inhibits protein uptake & the side affects mean lots of nasty toxins etc floating around in your blood afterwards..Best plan would be to neck a pint of OJ & lemonade with some nuts or the like first & then get on the ale!

RepacK, dunno if you know this, but most of us don't actually care that a beer after a ride "inhibits protein uptake"…We do this mostly for fun, you know?

Chill with the attitude buddy – I was just answering the OP's Q! I dont give a hoot about yr opinion either TBH.

I read a study on DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) , i'lldig it out. Said best thing was sit in a hot spa with a beer – seriously…

They dont know an awful lot about DOMS do they? It seems to be another one of those things that the body does that isnt very well understood but Im always interested to hear new thoughts. Dig it out indeed.

RepacK – post your Palmarés so we can see if you really know your stuff!

Or post a picture of your choice?

SB 🙂

Nah DOMS is indeed a bit of a mystery. The whole thought that its lactic build up and compression etc can clear it seems to have no grounds (we're sponsored by Skins and while they do something they don't stop DOMS – that I know for sure !). I'll find the article – it was in NZ multisport magazine.

strato I dont know an awful lot about physiology I admit but its just something Im interested in – wheres the big deal? BTY what is Palmares?

edit; hang on SB Ill see if I can find something suitable & then make it work!

We should all remember that beer 150 years ago was classed as a food it contains many nutrients, furthermore I have just done a 5 day pub crawl of Norfolk on bikes. I cannot say that I noticed any serious dehydration. First day we did 67.5 miles and 5 pubs at 2 pints a pub before we got to the pub we were staying at. To be honest the more dehydrated I SHOULD BE the more beer has NO dehydrating effect. 150 years a go a farm labourer took beer to drink at work not water.

Ian Munro – Member
Righto, you've finish a good evening ride, roosted to the max, made some ramblers eat dust and you've reached the pub to recover. Now lets add the crazy notion that you're going to have a pint of beer at some time.

Tell me reference the latter is it normal for mountain bikers to despise walkers (ramblers) like Munro does ??? As a mountain biker, walker and rugby player for that matter I don't look down on anyone. JB

Repack – gotcha! I see what you're saying. Good post!

Palmarés = cycling achievements. Need to know if what you say works for you.

SB 🙂

Its just stuff Ive picked up over the years, just trying to find any way I can to go faster for less effort 😉 I go for protein stuff to help recovery cos the scientific evidence seems to back it up. Likewise creatine for buidling up stamina & endurance. I avoid the beer straight after riding as its meant to be detrimental. I dont know for sure if any of the stuff works but hey if it helps you to think it helps, then thats half the battle isnt it? Its like an old pal of mine said "its 90% above the neck"..
As for stuff Ive done, nothing much to get excited about: Ive done a couple of Merida Enduros (75ks about the 5hr mark) plus some similar races in the Alps & Downieville this year which although short was totally brutal! Way harder than anything else Id done…I prefer enduro stuff rather than the fast & furious races – I get the legs ripped off me by younger, faster whippets in those!

Repack,
Yeah, like your old pal says… a lot of it is in the mind.

Speaking personally, it's the thought of a long cold post-race beer that keeps me going in hot summer races. I tell myself that if I do well I can have two. It works for me! 🙂 Oh, but I make sure I stay hydrated in the race, and wouldn't drink beer if I thought I was badly dry.

I did a google search on "beer as a recovery drink", and praise the lord, some Spanish researchers found that Beer performed better than water!

From the daily mail – so it must be true!!!!!!

Researchers suspect that the sugars, salts and bubbles in a pint may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

The finding, which comes from a study at Granada University in Spain, will be welcome news for the legions of evening and weekend sports enthusiasts who enjoy a postmatch pint.

It will also ease the worries of those still digesting the report from the cancer experts who linked alcohol and other products to an increased risk of some forms of the disease.

Professor Manuel Garzon, of Granada's medical faculty, made his discovery after tests on 25 students over several months.

They were asked to run on a treadmill under stifling temperatures of 40C (104F) until they were close to exhaustion.

Once they were on the point of giving up, researchers measured their hydration levels, concentrationability and motor skills.

Half were then given two half pints of Spanish lager to drink, while the rest were given water.

Both groups were then allowed to drink as much water as they wanted.

Professor Garzon said the rehydration effect in the students who were given beer was "slightly better" than among those given only water.

He believes the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench the thirst more quickly, while beer's carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.

Based on the studies, the researchers have recommended moderate consumption of beer – 500ml a day for men or 250ml for women – as part of an athlete's diet.

A typical person loses around a litre of water for every hour of exercise in sweat.

People who fail to rehydrate after exercise are more likely to feel tired, fuzzyheaded and suffer headaches.

A spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale said "moderate levels" of beer had beneficial health effects.

Past studies have shown that sensible drinking of one or two units a day can reduce the risk of heart disease, dementia, diabetes and Parkinson's disease, he said.

The ingredients of beer – which include malted barley, hops and yeast – are rich sources of vitamins and minerals.

Dr James Betts, an expert in post-exercise rehydration at Bath University, said: "People think of alcohol as being a diuretic, but if you are already hydrated, a small amount of beer could be a way of getting the fluid in."

The best way of rehydrating after exercise was with a sports drink containing sugars, water and salt, he added.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-491236/A-pint-beer-better-workout-water-say-scientists.html#ixzz0QhDKnbTJ

you need Glucozade Port!

There is a slight flaw in your arguement in that you appear to have waited until the end of the ride to start drinking beer?

Steak (rare) and ale….sorted.