Beer and bikes
 

Hi all
It was last sunday that I heard of a rider that was involved in a crash and lost one foot. The police said he was riding after drinking half a liter of beer, the rider admitted that.
I found that the culture of motorcycle riding goes with beer all over, Beer producers sponsor bike events. bars are pointing to bikers in ads, and most of us rush to the cold beer the moment we stop.
Me, I'm never even smell a beer before riding.
Do you think different? Is there a way or a trick to drink and ride? what are the laws in your place? Can you defend this culture?

yoni

This is a very interesting post. Weather alcohol was a factor in the accident would be hard to say considering all the factors that come into play. How large was this person and what is his tolerance to alcohol? Was he exhausted and did it go strait to his head? Would he have crashed anyways and he hapened do have half a litre of beer in his belly? How much alcohol was in the beer he drank? Experience has shown me law enforcement is always quick to blame alcohol for accidents, even when used in moderation. I've seen people driving under the influence of pain killers and even caugh medicine, in far worse shape than their legal limit of alcohol would effect them. The bottom line, IMHO, know your own limitations and stay within the laws of the land your in, or take a bus http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

Have to add my opinion on this. Drinking and driving is like eating mushrooms that you wild gathered with a blindfold on. You may get lucky but the cost of a mistake could be fatal or worse. I tell everyone not to drink even one beer and ride.

What is happening here? If you want a beer have one, if you crash while pissed bad luck. I think some post american puritanicalism is sneaking in....and Yoni I realise you are not american but shit 500ccs of beer isnt exactly rolling drunk. And if it was american beer he was drinking it probably the removed excess alcohol from his system.

long live the cold beer on a hot day, in fact I had one today, sorry three...oh my, then rode home at 130mph. Wowsers are taking over and frankly its getting boring.

alec

Check out this link:

http://www.soundrider.com/archive/sa...hol_sermon.htm

Think about this as well:

"Ran off-road crashes involve situations where the motorcyclist leaves the roadway and overturns or strikes some off-road object. This is the most frequently occurring motorcycle crash type accounting for 41 percent of the total. These are often late night, weekend crashes involving a motorcyclist who had been drinking. Off-road objects struck include: culvert, curb, or ditch (24 percent of the 857 crashes); posts and poles (11 percent); trees (10 percent); and guardrails (10 percent). This crash type, unlike the other crash types, most often occurs on a curve in the road (71 percent at curves versus 21 percent for all other crashes). Most are single-vehicle crashes though occasionally the motorcycle, the driver, or debris returns to the roadway and some other vehicle becomes involved."

While there isn't an exact percentage, it is wise to note that 41% of motorcycle accidents "often involve" a motorcyclist who had been drinking.

Simmo
I'm really happy for you. what is the trick? I mean: of writing such an opinion and calling it un boring?

Cheers mate
Yoni

what about sex and drugs on the bike and listening to rock n roll :-)))

Yoni, its about making a decision on risk. If you dont want to sniff beer and ride dont. But to suggest that those who do are being irresponsible etc is something else. It seems ok to have surgeons working 20 hour shifts in hospitals with no theoretical reduction in peformance at the end, yet having a beer is tantamount to rape and pillage. I think westerners have become somewhat accepting of revenue raising poll driven governments telling us how bad we all are.
This morning I began drinking at 8 am with a whole spanish town, then on horses and in dodgy old vans and tractors we spent 4 hours covering 5 kilometers to a feild for more cooling ales. I doubt the wowsers would let that happen, hell you could fall over and hit your head.

they will be banning stairs soon.

long live beer, and when you get the chance fast bikes.

alec

simmo
Liked your comment.
anyhow I think adventure has to do with making decisions on risk. I drink beer and quite a lot, we here are too on the edge of a desert. but drinking and riding?
What are you busy doing in life? and what is "wowsers"? http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif
Yoni

A wowser is someone who doesnt drink, tucks their t-shirt into their shorts,reads religious texts dogmatically and thinks due to their impecably good behaviour and sure place in heaven, have the right to try to make everyone else be the same.

They can be found running countries like Australia and the USA.

Joke....A presbyterian...or whatever wowser type religion you want to name... man and his son walking down the street on the way to church, the son begins whistling. Father looks at son then tells him to stop because people might think he is enjoying himself.

I am tryng to avoid the melbourne winter for a few more days in Andalusia on a borrowed CBR. Then I have to subject myself to the safety culture of my job.

http://users.netlink.com.au/~asimpson

alec

Here in South Africa, possibly the most civilized country south of the equator (including Australia) we are allowed the equivalent of two pints of beer in our system when driving. This amount is completely debilitating to some and insignificant to others.
Like Australia, South Africa lost a lot of teenagers and young adults to alcohol-related accidents in the past. We are slowly growing up as a responsible nation but a lot of traditions need to change first.
I agree with yoni that we should be more honest with our drinking-and-riding habits (I don’t ride my bike when I’m drunk.) but I for one hate it when others try to enforce their limitations on me.

Simmo is right… down with welfare states and their fascist control, long live beer!

Cyril

(this post should have been longer to explain my apparently contradictory statements but I can’t be bothered. I had too much wine last night…)

Interesting topic, but no-one has made the point that anyone who drinks and subsequently hurts or kills himself has only himself to blame, but if they hurt somebody else it's a very different story. It's fine to believe that you can handle your piss and will be alright making it between pubs on a quiet Sunday ride, but if you injure someone else then that will be on your conscience for the rest of your life. There seems to me to be enough time in life to enjoy beer and enjoy riding, but not together. Do to yourself what you want, just don't hurt anyone else.

My two cents,
JC

Hi all ...yep have to agree with jc... i myself don't drink and ride .... but we all know ..drink or smoking is blamed for everthing... you crash ...and they smell a wine-gum on your breath ...well thats enough???you get the flu.. and the first question is....do you smoke ...??have that cold beer after a long hard ride ... but !!!then call it a day ...'ride safe' ...trand

Have to agree with JamesCo. Get pissed and ride your bike you are likely to hurt someone else and thats not good. I suppose its lower down the scale of evils than driving a Mac truck through a kindergarden playground whilst hammered but still, I reckon every adult should take into account that round the next corner could be a bus load of toddlers and their expectant mother teacher on the way to the zoo, (its probably the disabled kids birthday for extra pathos). Or it could be a lawyer. Either way having a drunk biker come steaming through their windscreen follwed by his KTM/BMW or whatever aint their fault so you shouldn't do it. Just my opinion of course.
matt

I hear the new BMW has a breathaliser built in now and the new Goldwing has a heated one for winter nights!

Julio

Well - far up here in the north (where one should believe some "defrosters" in you veins might be helpful to actually circulate the blood to your brain) the police strictly enforce the zero tolerance policy on drinking & driving. Most of us don't mind. We're used to it, and do not drink & drive. Suits me fine. I'd hate to crash while knowing I was under the influence of alcohol. On the other hand: It only hurts if you survive, as they say.

Beer and bikes? What a wonderful combination. All that is missing from the equation is the dancing girls. And the other recreational drugs...

Since when does your beemer do 130mph Alec?

Hmm... typical place to drink beer in combination with bikes is at bike meetings. Sometimes you feel a bit strange there to go to town by foot, after drinking a few beers, while all the others still drive... anyway, it's everybodys own decision, but I always try to avoid drinking anything when i'm driving. Maybe one beer is ok, 500cc shouldn't be a problem in my opinion (and my weight :-)

Marco
http://www.schnueriger.net

For UK based riders: I noticed recently on the side of a bottle it had the number of 'units' of alcohol on the side. Now the limit in the UK is two units, as far as I'm aware. This was a bottle of ale with a % of about 4. Its marked volume 500ml. Presumably this means a pint would put you over the limit and a pint of strong beer, even Stella at 5% quite a lot over the limit. Seems mad you could be prosecuted for riding after 1 pint, eh?
matt

Sorry, i should point out the 500ml bottle at 4% apparently contained 2 units.
matt

Now Now Rich! You may have noticed that the 130mph was in Spain and the Schwinehundt BMW is in Australia. I was on a CBR, you know the Honda, made in Japan, fast, has brakes, suspension and horseing around power, something BMW have yet to discover..the beers were drunk in the sun at a Jerez ride day..for the wowsers..I was spectating. Had I been in Melbourne it would probably have been raining, it most certainly would not have been Hot, something Rich, as a Southern Hemisphere dweller you should have been aware of http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif . I later rode the bike from Jerez to Marbella via Ronda, now thats some road, 100mph hairpins....oh and the beer was cold at the pit stops as well. Hic!

you lucky, lucky bastard.



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Richard Parkinson
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...richardandlisa

I think a lot of accidents where 'alchohol is a contributing factor' could also have speed/carelessness as a factor. Drivers/riders are more likely to do careless things due to the grog.
If i ride after a few beers i always maintain concentration and resist the temptation to do silly stuff.

Also fatigue is often a factor in accidents (more so with cars).

Let he who has never driven tired cast the first stone.
Sean

[This message has been edited by seanh (edited 27 June 2005).]

Alcohol certainly is a factor in road accidents. I don’t think it causes idiocy. It merely brings out the idiot already living inside us.
If we’re going to submit idioms and sayings then allow me this one:

Beers don’t kill people… people do!

Half a litre? How does one loose his foot and blame it on drinking half a litre of beer? Come on over to Canada and we shall teach you how to drink then after your lesson send you home in a cab with your bike in the trunk.haha

dont drink and drive. peace

Was it more than half a liter before you got this great idea?
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

peace indeed

You know, I made a test.
I could not evaluate with precission how beer could affect my riding so I played with a PlayStation 2 the GT4 game, made the best time I could after 1 hour of "driving".
Then took 2 beers, and never could beat the lap time I set before.
I have been beating that time once in a while after developing some skills in the game but everytime beer is involved, I never go faster.

Maybe it is childish but it is enough proof that alcohol does not maintain my skills, nor improve them.
Not to mention the lots of "crashes" I had in the game while drinking.

My conclusion was, I dont want to have this handicap while riding on the seat of my vehicle.

Drink as much as you want, I respect you, I will avoid alcohol anytime before or while I ride, and this has nothing to do with religion or cults.

Cheers!


Humberto