The human mind loves contrasts, light and dark, left and right, here and there. Digital. We deal far less well with shades of gray, despite the world we live being little more than continuous, overlapping energy fields of one type or another, the ultimate gray. Analog.
So, as I set you up for another dastardly either/or choice, know that I know how complex you are, that you can hold two ideas in your mind at one time and credit them both. This is just Friday shenanigans. The answers to the questions don’t mean that much. What’s important is that we’re talking, the big group of us. We’re participating with each other. Ginger or Mary Ann? Edward or Jacob? Coppi or Bartali? The answer in all cases is just yes.
But today I’m talking about what you drink after you ride bikes.
Once upon a time, I was a beer guy. In fact, I was a beer guy so thoroughly and completely that I had to stop being a beer guy. Now I’m a coffee guy. These seem to be the primary camps of the post-ride battle for liquid supremacy. Coffee or beer?
A smart person will probably continue to consume some electrolyte beverage even after they’ve stopped pedaling, because that’s really what the body needs. Beer people will always trot out some nonsense about the calories and the analgesic effects of bubbly barley water. Coffee people are just addicts. There’s no reason to drink a diuretic stimulant, but I do it. It’s one of my favorite things to do after I’ve gotten very tired by riding a bicycle.
Bike marketing is littered with shots of ruggedly attractive people sitting at cafes with tables full of espresso and cappuccino cups. I prefer what I call a “dirty iced coffee,” which isn’t doctored in any way. It’s just the biggest, cheapest light roast garbage you can find with loads of cream and sugar in it. There is almost no other scenario in which I would drink such a thing, but a spicy trail ride followed by a tankard of crappy, sweet, cold java is just about the only way I get high nowadays.
So here we are, here we are! Are you a beer? Or are you a coffee? I’m reasonably certain some of you are both, but it’s time to make a decision. Lay your cards on the table. Which one are you?
Same, The younger me was a beer guy. In fact apres long ride beers were always stronger than my typical favorite beers such as Chimay. Now days, it’s a cortado and I’m good.
Coffee with fair amounts of both milk and sugar. Always seem to have a headache after long rides, a jolt of sweet java takes care of that.
Beer.