How many beers and still ride safe?

[whoa]

Let's assume you weigh 160lbs (you know I don't), have no alcohol in your system, and recently consumed a hamburger. You metabolize bac at the textbook rate of .15-.2 percent per hour. You'll drink your beer, not nurse it, and you'll be heading out when you finish your last gulp.

Before you and your buddies head back out, how many beers do you believe you can drink and still be a safe rider? After all, your just cruising, not burning up the twisties. Bottoms up.

[wabbit]

Just because your cruising doesnt mean it will hurt less when a car hits you.

[Loyd]

Reaction times of the bike alone demand a much clearer head than a cage IMO. Especially sportbikes.

[bushwhacker]

1 beer affects your reaction time and impairs your judgment.

If you do not have an hour to wait for each beer you consume and an hour after the last beer then either don't drink or don't drive.

Alcohol impairment chart

http://hro.navair.navy.mil/military/impairchrt.htm

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[wonder91178]

Squidward and I never drink if we are on bikes, iced tea please! :mrgreen:

Although I'm sure you posted it for open discussion....I guess I just don't have that much input, haha.

[Squidward]

I have a hard enough time operating this crazy 2-wheeled death trap while stone cold sober. Impairing myself before riding would be......wait.....it might actually help. :ponder: :party: :flip:

[TexBiker]

Unless I'm at home and plan to stay there, I don't drink any alcohol at all. I save my Shiner Bock for post-ride refreshment.

[WoodButcher]

I'll have one with a meal if I'm in the truck, but none on the bike. Unless I'm going to be hanging around for a while for it to wear off and I'm not going to ride very far after that. One will make me tired and I wouldn't wait and hour or so and then ride for a couple hours. I would be tempted to have a beer with a meal, wait and hour or so then make a short run home.

[whoa]

I wouldn't have a problem drinking one beer and hitting the road. Except if something does happen there is some explaining to do, and assumptions to overcome (civil implications, remarks in accident reports etc).

Its been years since my intoxilizer, but at the time at .1% I had no business in a car, much less driving. But around .02% bac my reaction was not impaired.

One point I make that doesn't get much argument, is to ask "How many drinks are you comfortable with your pilot having before pushback?" The typical response is 0.

[dutchinterceptor]

I have one of those electronic BAC testers and I don't know how accurate it is compared to the police ones but it seems fairly consistent with other people that have used it based on size and quantity. I've always tried to stick to the 2 beer limit when driving the cage. When piloting the scoot.....no alcohol for me.....to big of a risk.

5'10" 230lbs
Chicken Fried Steak at Roadhouse
2 Heneikens

BAC 20 minutes after: .06

[Project-RD]

6'1" 195lbs ...

0 beers for me if I'm on two wheels ... food or no food ... :chug:

[Tourmeister]

I save it for the end of the day.

[dixonduke]

Squidward and I never drink if we are on bikes, iced tea please! :mrgreen:

Although I'm sure you posted it for open discussion....I guess I just don't have that much input, haha.

+1

[Kidder]

If I'm on the bike, I don't touch a DROP of alcohol.

[Photojojo]

I rarely drink so 1 beer will get me tipsy. No way would I drive anything less than an hour afetr the last gulp per beverage.

[Voltar]

I put one beer. I very seldom have anything to drink if I am riding, but one would for sure be my limit.

Most of the time all I want is water, water, water.

[TexasTri]

I also put 1. Don't usually drink and ride, but that would be the limit if it were to happen.

[scratch]

On rare occasions I might have 1 beer while riding. But that's only if I'm sitting down for a meal, anticipate being off the bike for the next hour or so, and am not feeling any symptoms of fatigue at the time. I wouldn't drink one on a hot day either; only during mild weather.

[Tx Rider]

6'3 225lbs here.

If I have eaten a good meal, a couple is fine.

If I haven't eaten for a few hours 1 is too much.

I don't make a habit out of drinking and riding or driving, or even make a habit out drinking at all. I generally only have alcohol on occasions like vacation or some event. Maybe 3-4 beers a year.

I do tend to grab a bottle of crown for after riding when I'm out on trips, the last half bottle from the Arkansas DS trip is still sitting on my fridge waiting for the next trip. :)

[DaveC]

Been there: Done that: Live to tell about it! Some days I had more luck than sense.

[bushwhacker]

Been there: Done that: Live to tell about it! Some days I had more luck than sense.

+1 - Don't do it anymore.

There were times as a teenager (in a cage) when I had no memory of how I got to my destination. There are also a couple of times that I had to drive so far w/o additional "refreshment" that my memory returned while I was still behind the wheel but there would be just a blank between then and back to sometime prior to getting in the car.

I was lucky. I never had an accident and never hurt anyone.

Scarry stuff.

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[Faylaricia]

;-) I rarely drink so I am a lightweight; the so-called 'cheap date'. The absolutely untypical German but I grew up in wine country anyways.

One is plenty for me for hours so I put down 0.

[FirstMan]

I do not ride my bike in the city (I live in Plano) so most rides are between 45 miles to 500+ miles. There is no way on a trip that I going to drink. And usually I am dehydrated when I get there, so that night there would be no alchol for me.

[Thermalser]

I save it for the end of the day.

One Balvenie single malt scotch, please.:thumb:

Only on rare occasions, I voted one. I mans gotta know his limits.:zen:

[Tourmeister]

And usually I am dehydrated when I get there

Camel-Bak!! I feel much better at the end of a day of riding if I stay hydrated. It also helps me maintain concentration longer in the day. Don't know how I went without one for so long :scratch:

[DaveC]

Camel-Bak!! I feel much better at the end of a day of riding if I stay hydrated. It also helps me maintain concentration longer in the day. Don't know how I went without one for so long :scratch:

How many long necks well it hold:rofl:

[whoa]

when I had no memory of how I got to my destination.

The most dangerous drivers I've encountered were close to the legal limit. To themselves and their friends they seem ok. Higher and they knew to keep a low profile, and (some) drivers around them could also tell.

I've told friends that good people don't handle grave mistakes well. Causing pain from a stupid act carries a heavy burden.

[Curt]

0 here...iced tea is probably my favorite non-alcholic drink anyway:sun:. When i do consume alcohol, its after the bike keys are put away for the day. After warmer rides, I have been known to dig into a six pack of ice cold Miller High Life (Champagne of Beers!) at my apartment.:-P

[John Bennett]

This brings up an interesting question. Who's to say .09 BAC makes me unfit to drive, but .07 BAC is legal?

Just because some sorority girl loses her mind after three sips of Boone's Farm Strawberry Splash, I can't have a fine Bass Ale or three while stopped in Fredricksburg?

If I drive from point A to B with a BAC of .12 and don't hurt anyone, how have I committed a crime against anyone?

If we arrest and punish people for harm they might cause, we need to start locking up people infected with HIV who drink alcohol, people who own Pitbull Dogs within 500 feet of a playground, and people found to have loaded rifles in their homes which are capable of penetrating one house to the next.

[budzrex]

0 is the only answer for me, and I will usually break free of a group if any of the riders drink during a break, plenty of time for that after the bike is in the garage or the motel parking lot. We recently had a rider (who I had never met before)at a meeting in Eureka Springs who was drinking at 7:30 am in the parking lot. He could not understand why we told him he was not riding with our group. Later that evening someone who did let him ride in the group said at the first gas stop he bought beer(one of those big ole 44oz jobs) when everyone else bought water. He was left there and asked not to continue with the group. This group later got stopped for excess enthusiasm, no tickets just a reminder on how to read speed limits, but imagine what would have happened if the officer smelled beer on one of them. I dont feel that I am a too harsh but I dont want anyone riding with me that knowingly does something to reduce thier ability to operate while riding near me.

[Texas T]

I rarely drink so 1 beer will get me tipsy. No way would I drive anything less than an hour afetr the last gulp per beverage.
+1

[kocook]

Even a hang-over or lack of sleep can be enough to keep me off the street on a bike.

[Voltar]

This brings up an interesting question. Who's to say .09 BAC makes me unfit to drive, but .07 BAC is legal?

Uhhhh, the State of Texas

If we arrest and punish people for harm they might cause, ......

But John, we do that all the time. If I go outside and rack off a few clips from my pistol into the air I should expect to get in trouble. I can't tell the cops, "Hey, let's wait an hour or two and if nobody got hurt then it was all in good fun"

Or barrel down the road at 120MPH or so. If you get stopped your in big trouble. Vechicles going that fast are considered a weapon. When you get stopped you can't just ask for a normal speeding ticket and say, "Nobody hurt, let me sign on the line and be on my way."

Get it?

[Voltar]

......We recently had a rider (who I had never met before)at a meeting in Eureka Springs who was drinking at 7:30 am in the parking lot.......at the first gas stop he bought beer(one of those big ole 44oz jobs) .......


Gee, I'm not against anyone having a beer, but that doesn't seem like a guy I would wanna ride with either. I mean, 7:30A in a parking lot for ride hydration?!?!? :eek2:

I may, however, what to go fishing or camping with him. Not riding.

[John Bennett]

> If I go outside and rack off a few clips from my pistol into the air I should expect to get in trouble.

If that racket destroys the right of others to enjoy their property in peace and repose, yes. If those bullets punch a hole in my roof yes. If you're on your 1,000 acre ranch in West Texas, have at it.

> "Or barrel down the road at 120MPH or so."

Good point. Who is it hurting? No one.

[bushwhacker]

Drug possession Laws

Prostitution Laws

Jay Walking

Gasoline in a glass container

Possession of explosive devices

vehicle inspection

requirement of a driver's license

possession of a weapon by a felon

I could probably go on indefinately.

None of the conduct prohibited, in and of itself, is harmful.

It is illegal because of the potential of harm.

Of course you already know this and are just trying to bait people with drinking and driving as a hot button issue.

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[Voltar]

Well, I can agree with the 1000 acre West Texas Ranch thing.

But... if everybody flys down the road at twice the legal limit there is going to be problems. Big problems for lots of people. Mayhem.


> If I go outside and rack off a few clips from my pistol into the air I should expect to get in trouble.

If that racket destroys the right of others to enjoy their property in peace and repose, yes. If those bullets punch a hole in my roof yes. If you're on your 1,000 acre ranch in West Texas, have at it.

> "Or barrel down the road at 120MPH or so."

Good point. Who is it hurting? No one.

[budzrex]

Gasoline in a glass container

If this is true then most old tractors and pre 1960 cars are in violation
as most used glass bowls for the fuel filters, and you can still buy
aftermarket high flow filters that have polished ends and glass bodies

[SirWilhelm]

I don't think it covered the glass bowls of vehicles (geez do you remember the turpentine we used to scrape out of them before we could start the engine of whatever?) , which were quite thick. What it was for was folks putting it in large mouth mayonaise jars, dropping the jar (duh) and the catching themselves and everyone else on fire, when they dropped their cigarette into the mess. Also it was aimed at the Malotov Cocktail people who liked glass "coke" bottles, and rags and gasoline to burn the homes of those they were in disagreement with. (And burned crosses, etc).
But you know Darwinisn is always on the look out for new people to add to the ranks at the shallow end of the gene pool. ;-)
Just when you think everyone should know better, there is someone who sets their garage/house and car or motorcycle on fire while boiling the carbureator in gasoline on the stove.:lol2:

Dang it's hot. 107F here today. Hope anyone riding after noon was well hydrated. At 0800 it was really nice but got hot fast.

[Thermalser]

Even a hang-over or lack of sleep can be enough to keep me off the street on a bike.

Keep you off the track too?:cool2:

[bushwhacker]

Gasoline in a glass container

If this is true then most old tractors and pre 1960 cars are in violation
as most used glass bowls for the fuel filters, and you can still buy
aftermarket high flow filters that have polished ends and glass bodies

Take a glass jug to the corner gas station and try to fill it with gas. They are not supposed to let you pump gas into anything but an approved gas container!

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[Tx Rider]

This brings up an interesting question. Who's to say .09 BAC makes me unfit to drive, but .07 BAC is legal?

Just because some sorority girl loses her mind after three sips of Boone's Farm Strawberry Splash, I can't have a fine Bass Ale or three while stopped in Fredricksburg?



If your going to make driving while mentally impaired illegal, you have to draw the line somewhere. It's not like they don't have decades of scientific testing to show at what level peope become too impaired to be safe.

Surely you know that the reason the girl is drunk at 3 sips is because her blood alcohol level is as high after 3 sips as yours is after 3 beers. It's simply the most reliable way to measure how much alcohol is soaking your brain cells, which is a pretty reliable measure of intoxication.

If you can come up with a better more reliable way of testing, I'm sure law enforcement would be interested. :)

[txbanditrydr]

5'10" 130lbs
Chicken Fried Steak at Roadhouse
2 Heneikens

BAC 20 minutes after: .06
Gee Dutch, was that in 1992??? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Zero alcohol for me as well when riding although the poll shouldn't limit it to tea... I hate tea - just a bunch of old leaves soaking in water. I mean, who wants to drink a swamp anyway?? :shrug: :lol2:

[John Bennett]

If you can come up with a better more reliable way of testing, I'm sure law enforcement would be interested.

We already have drivers' licenses in class A, B, C, & M. Scuba divers get certified. In Texas you must have a license to box.

Doug Stanhope proposes that if you can pass your driving test at .25 BAC, then by-golly, you're good to drive at .25 BAC. I think I could qualify for a Class D20 driver's license (I'm legal to drive up to BAC.20). :-)

But seriously, instead of all this testing, licensing, and legislative divination, why not punish bad driving itself ? ? ?

I work with middle-aged women who spend all day so zonked on physician-prescribed Xanax they are barely able to navigate a hallway. It's frightening to watch them crawl into their cars at 5pm for the cruise home. They are definately Driving While Intoxicated. They are a menace on the roads.

Yes, that is technically illegal, but you and I both know they will never be prosecuted or otherwise punished for it.

[whoa]

I agree that some people handle alcohol better than others. But this is in controlled situations like standing up, talking etc. I've seen people that were convincing in the controlled setting, but failed the important part (keeping a car on the road, blood/breath tests, etc).

The test we give pilots works well. If you can detect it, thats too much. This approach would treat all drivers equally.

[dutchinterceptor]

Gee Dutch, was that in 1992??? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:




What do ya mean? It says 230lbs!!


:doh: :lol2:

[cyclesnoopy]

i dont drink beer at all(NASTY taste). i do like a good mixed drink occasionally, but not if im going to be riding. i did recently ride to my dentist appointment, wound up getting his "bravery potion" which is a ground up valium and a muscle relaxer(NASTY tasting,but sure does work), i shouldnt have done that i know. fortunately, i made it home ok.