I have been asked why I think that cyclists should not drink alcohol, and this was my response: Although alcohol contains more energy per gram (7 Cal/gram) than carbohydrates, and it is rapidly absorbed from the intestinal tract, the available evidence suggests these calories are not utilized to any significant extent during exercise. Thus its negative effects outweigh any theoretical positive ones. These include: 1) It's a diuretic and contributes to dehydration 2) Alcohol lowers your blood pressure while drinking it 3) After the alcohol is metabolized in the liver and excreted trough the kidneys the body reacts defensively increasing the blood pressure to compensate the dehydration, so the body tries to retain water doing this which causes not only temporary hypertension and in some people heart palpitations especially if they are athletes who climb in any way, like runner, hikers and cyclists. 4) It slows down glucose production, causing hypoglycemia 5) It metabolizes in the liver and destroys hepatic cells 6) It damages the pancreatic cells as well. 7) It disturbs motor skills including balance and coordination. These two videos show that these two bikers are no serious cyclists, but nonetheless the first biker did not deserve to be put under terrible humiliation, in my personal opinion. Watch the 2 videos and notice the difference between two cultures. The first video shows a drunk biker who is being ridiculed by a group of guys who are having "fun" on the bikers misfortune. The second video shows a biker who is also too drunk to ride his bike and finally falls to the ground. But in this video nobody is making fun of him. Instead, a car driver goes by and kindly pulls over and runs to him to help him. What a difference, no? There was a study from Pennsylvania State where 10 women were given a mixed alcohol drink. Then they made them ride stationary bikes for 30 minutes at 70-75% of their maximum heart rate. Compared to their own baseline performance off alcohol, cycling after alcohol requir...