# Cycling back from a night out involving heavy drinking



## Soup890 (30 May 2014)

Has any cycled to a club,house party, a rave, pub, bar, etc etc and cycled back home heavily intoxicated with alcohol late at night or early hours in the morning?

And if you did how many miles?

What was it like?


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## vickster (30 May 2014)

Illegal


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## PpPete (30 May 2014)

Not recently.
Used to frequently.
About 5 miles
Stopped by hitting high kerb and fracturing quill stem.


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## AndyRM (30 May 2014)

Yes, though alcohol was not the intoxicant of choice.

10.

Calming. It was about 3am or I'd not have done it.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2014)

Pass.


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## Shaun (30 May 2014)

Yes, my brother-in-law; broke several bones and lost two front teeth.

Skinful-cycling is not advisable.


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## welsh dragon (30 May 2014)

Drinking and cycling should be treated the same way as drink driving. You could cause someone else to crash and cause Injuries and even death. What is the differance?


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## mattobrien (30 May 2014)

What has this got to do with commuting?


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## Dave 123 (30 May 2014)

mattobrien said:


> What has this got to do with commuting?


Depends where you work......


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## Shaun (30 May 2014)

mattobrien said:


> What has this got to do with commuting?



It hasn't - I've moved it.


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## Rasmus (30 May 2014)

I come from Denmark, a country known for heavy drinking, and ubiquitous cycling.

Make your own conclusions.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 May 2014)

welsh dragon said:


> Drinking and cycling should be treated the same way as drink driving.



Nonsense, and that's why the sentencing options are different.


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## TissoT (30 May 2014)

Should Try drinking and driving Whilst Riding on the Track ... That would be interesting to watch


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## welsh dragon (30 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> Nonsense, and that's why the sentencing options are different.



You probably wouldn't think like that if a cyclist swerved into the path of your car causing you to crash and injuring you and or your family or worse still causing the death of a member of your family.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 May 2014)

welsh dragon said:


> You probably wouldn't think like that if a cyclist swerved into the path of your car causing you to crash and injuring you and or your family or worse still causing the death of a member of your family.



I would.


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## ScotiaLass (30 May 2014)

http://www.ctc.org.uk/sites/default/files/file_public/cycling-under-influencebrf.pdf


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## sheddy (30 May 2014)

Used to do this off-road.
What I found unpleasant was that when very pissed, a bike is easy enough to ride, but is transformed into a lethal weapon that will cause injury the moment you try to get off and walk.


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## subaqua (30 May 2014)

if I can't get the key in the lock then i am too pissed to ride.


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## guitarpete247 (30 May 2014)

I used to take bike out for a 10 mile run after the pub occasionally many years ago (30+ years ago). Always sobered me up all that fresh air in the early hours of the morning. Quiet roads.
I also had a summer job that meant I was starting at 6:00 am, cycling in at 5:30 after the night before sometimes after heavy weekend. Again sobered me up before work.


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## Soup890 (30 May 2014)

guitarpete247 said:


> I used to take bike out for a 10 mile run after the pub occasionally many years ago (30+ years ago). Always sobered me up all that fresh air in the early hours of the morning. Quiet roads.
> I also had a summer job that meant I was starting at 6:00 am, cycling in at 5:30 after the night before sometimes after heavy weekend. Again sobered me up before work.


Thanks, a nice and honest answer.


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## glenn forger (30 May 2014)

Ukrainian vodka, Bethnal Green to Leytonstone, about three miles, broken nose. Don't do it. My niece was staying with me, when she got home I was sat on the settee with my face covered in blood "What happened?" she gasped. "Ukrainian vodka!" I said, and went back to sleep.


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## summerdays (30 May 2014)

I've cycled when I wouldn't have driven, but still relatively sober, and short distances, tending to take the quiet side streets. Now we moved, it's too far to feel like cycling after drinking with our friends, so normally one of us stays sober. (Or the better way is we invite them to come our direction).


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## Soup890 (30 May 2014)

glenn forger said:


> Ukrainian vodka, Bethnal Green to Leytonstone, about three miles, broken nose. Don't do it. My niece was staying with me, when she got home I was sat on the settee with my face covered in blood "What happened?" she gasped. "Ukrainian vodka!" I said, and went back to sleep.


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## deptfordmarmoset (30 May 2014)

If I don't cycle back from the pub I'll end up stopping at the kebab shop and wake up wondering why there's red chilli stains on my clothes and shoes.


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## ayceejay (30 May 2014)

The most difficult part of moving about when 3 sheets is maintaining an upright posture (ie not falling over) a bicycle is an indispensable aid but once you attempt to put your leg over the saddle and ride it - all bets are off.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2014)

Confession time.
Balham to Hammersmith, about seven miles after a six hour party.
I was fine when I got on the bike and rode up to the main road. At the first major set of lights, I put my left foot down and gravity took over. Keeled over on to the pavement with the bike on top of me. A lovely young lady leaned down and asked if I was OK. I giggled and assured her I was. I set off again and was enjoying the ride immensely when I came to another halt at some lights....the same slow fall to the left. This time a charming young man asked if I would like to be taken to St George's Hospital, Tooting. He may have thought that I had had some kind of subarachnoid haemorrhage but I assured him I was absolutely fine and thanked him for his concern. I don't remember the route I took but I got back home and went to bed.
I had no bruises in the morning and my bike clothes were entirely undamaged. Worryingly, my rear mech had some gouges and I had lost the bar-end plug on the right side too. I don't remember ever falling to the right. It was fun at the time and I was lucky, but I was overcome with guilt and remorse. It wasn't clever, and it was almost certainly extremely dangerous.
Don't do it.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2014)

You weren't there. Actually, I'm not sure I was either.


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## Trembler49 (30 May 2014)

Cycled to a pub, did twelve mile run involving 6 more pubs, cycled home in the dark. Terrifying!


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## snorri (30 May 2014)

It can be problematic for those of us in rural areas with no street lighting and reliant on dynamo lighting for illumination. When starting off into the darkness it is very easy to become disorientated and fall over before sufficient forward movement can be achieved to throw light on the route ahead. One has to choose whither to adopt the bold approach and accelerate rapidly from a standstill, or to take the more cautious, but actually riskier option of moving off slowly and hoping enough light can be thrown on the road ahead to allow observation and avoidance of obstructions ahead but with the increased risk of stalling and falling over. Which leads to another party dilemma, should one attempt to follow the ill defined road edge on the way home or the white line in the middle of said road? 
Just don't do it children, it's not a smart or clever thing to do.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2014)

Closing one eye usually helps.


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## benb (31 May 2014)

welsh dragon said:


> You probably wouldn't think like that if a cyclist swerved into the path of your car causing you to crash and injuring you and or your family or worse still causing the death of a member of your family.



Has that ever, ever happened?

To suggest that cycling drunk is as bad as driving drunk is idiotic.


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## classic33 (31 May 2014)

benb said:


> Has that ever, ever happened?
> 
> To suggest that cycling drunk is as bad as driving drunk is idiotic.


Breathalised coming home from work one night as the person in charge of one of the three vehicles involved in an incident.
Driver of the Range Rover, that hit the other car, after overtaking me on the wrong side insisted I be treated the same as he was. 
He claimed I'd been drinking when he passed me, causing him to go onto the wrong side of the road.
I guess it was done as much to shut him up as much as owt else.

He managed to write off the car he hit, and the three occupants inside were cut from the car.


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## welsh dragon (31 May 2014)

benb said:


> Has that ever, ever happened?
> 
> To suggest that cycling drunk is as bad as driving drunk is idiotic.



Did I say it was as bad? No. I said a drunk cyclist should be treated like a drunk driver. Did I say something like that had happened? No. I said how would you feel, if a cyclist caused an accident like that and your family was injured. Would you then feel that they should be treated more leniently because it was a bike?


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## welsh dragon (31 May 2014)

User said:


> There are well established differences though. We have a measurable history of death and destruction caused by drunk drivers. You would struggle to find any significant equivalent for drunk cyclists.
> The degree to which alcohol impairs the ability to cycle safely appears to be less than the degree to which it impairs the ability to drive safely.



I agree with what you say, im just saying that they should be treated the same as far as the law is concerned. It is a road vehicle after all.


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## vickster (31 May 2014)

It is an office if cycling or pushing a bike drunk 

_Riding a cycle on a road or other public place_ while _unfit to ride through drink or drugs_ (RTA s.30)
Being _drunk while in charge_ of a _carriage_ on any _highway or other public place_ (LA 1872, s.12;_ Corkery v Carpenter_ [1951] 1 KB 102) 
For the _riding while unfit _offence you have to be, well, riding.

Curiously, you can only be convicted of the _drunk in charge _offence if you’re _not _riding. So if you attempt to ride but can’t, or (possibly) *even if you’re just pushing your bike along, you could be convicted of being drunk in charge* (RTOA s.5; _DPP v Watkins_ [1989] QB 821, 831)

http://ukcyclerules.com/2010/09/21/can-you-ride-when-youve-been-drinking/


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## welsh dragon (31 May 2014)

User said:


> I fully agree the, I wouldn't want the consequences on my conscience part. To take it the other way, what about a drunk pedestrian?



If they caused an accident then they should be prosecuted surely, but I suppose it is all hypothetical. How many people and cyclists would be prosecuted? Should be and are are two different things I suppose. I suppose it would all depend on the circumstances.


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## Cubist (31 May 2014)

User13710 said:


> Can a cyclist be charged with being' drunk and disorderly'?


Only two points to prove for the offence.
1 That the person was drunk
2. That his behaviour in a public place was disorderly.


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## User169 (31 May 2014)

Whats the point of having a bike if you cant ride it to and fro the pub. The only downside is remembering where you parked it!


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## MontyVeda (31 May 2014)

When i lived out of town and socialised in town i did it quite a few times... on occasion i was stupidly drunk on the ride home. These days I'm much more sensible... usually.


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## summerdays (31 May 2014)

Delftse Post said:


> Whats the point of having a bike if you cant ride it to and fro the pub. The only downside is remembering where you parked it!


I still tease a friend about how he lost a bike because he couldn't remember where he locked it up on a pub crawl, which he has very little recollection of


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## MarkF (31 May 2014)

Lots of times, all of summer usually, I can use the canal to get home. Lost my glasses and cut my head after last years Saltaire festival.


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## Glow worm (31 May 2014)

'Refreshed' cycling is one of life's great joys


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## vernon (31 May 2014)

User said:


> I fully agree the, I wouldn't want the consequences on my conscience part. To take it the other way, what about a drunk pedestrian?



A one year ban from walking more than a couple of metres from the front door/front gate and compulsory taxi rides at his/her expense?


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## vernon (31 May 2014)

When I reach the level of inebriation of the chap in the video below I eschew cycling home and seek a shrubbery to sleep it off in.


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## vernon (31 May 2014)

User said:


> You cut your head falling in the canal?



You haven't seen what they throw into the Leeds - Liverpool canal.


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## vernon (31 May 2014)

User said:


> Is the proportion of water in it less than it is in whiskey?



It's the solids that worry me...


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## MarkF (31 May 2014)

User said:


> You cut your head falling in the canal?



No, I ran over a large white cat, I think it was already dead. Was when I went back (to look for my glasses) in the morning anyway.........


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## summerdays (31 May 2014)

User said:


> Did he not lock it up outside the last pub in readiness?


He retraced his steps the best he could but never found it, who knows where he left it! He just hopes it found a new owner all those years ago!


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## mattobrien (31 May 2014)

One of my bikes is referred to as the 'pub bike'.

My local often has a number of bikes locked up outside it, although being my local I walk there. I sometimes socialise with the other dads from my daughters school, which involves a six mile journey by bicycle. We are all keen cyclists.


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## PpPete (31 May 2014)

User13710 said:


> You don't have to be drunk - a friend called the police when she came out of work stone cold sober because her car had been stolen (she forgot she'd parked it in another street that morning).



I read that as "...because her cat had been stolen" then wondered wtf she was doing it parking it...
Rather nice botle of rosé with my tea may have a teensy weensy bit to do with that. Bike is safely locked away ....


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## PoliceMadAd (31 May 2014)

Once, and rode into a wall at the immediate side of the road (no kerb). Cut my right hand knuckles, still got the scars at least 3 years on. Ended up walking round the late night Asda, bloodied hand, and no one batted an eyelid. No pain as I was quite intoxicated, but woke up the next morning, and god did it hurt. It definitely stopped me doing it again. And I feel lucky to have walked away with the minor injuries I had, wasn't wearing a helmet, and it was a main road out of Derby. Fun times...


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## benb (1 Jun 2014)

welsh dragon said:


> Did I say it was as bad? No. I said a drunk cyclist should be treated like a drunk driver. Did I say something like that had happened? No. I said how would you feel, if a cyclist caused an accident like that and your family was injured. Would you then feel that they should be treated more leniently because it was a bike?



So you're saying a drunk cyclist should receive a mandatory 1 year cycling ban? 

If you're saying they should be treated the same, then you *are* saying they are both as bad.


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## welsh dragon (1 Jun 2014)

benb said:


> So you're saying a drunk cyclist should receive a mandatory 1 year cycling ban?
> 
> If you're saying they should be treated the same, then you *are* saying they are both as bad.



I was saying not as bad as in a bike itself won't cause as much damage to another vehicle if it was to hit another vehicle. However a drunk cyclist could cause a driver to swerve, hit another vehicle that could cause severe Injuries to passengers and drivers alike. And before you say anything else, note I've said could, not this particular scenario has happened.

in that scenario, yes a cyclist should be treated the same, but as SL said and provided a PDF file, being drunk in charge of any vehicle,, whether a bus, car, motorbike, scooters or bicycle is an offence, thereforea any accident any vehicle causes should be treated the same.


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## surfdude (1 Jun 2014)

did it a few times when i was younger and have the scars to show how bad an idea it is .


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## jongooligan (1 Jun 2014)

Must have done it loads of times without even thinking about it. A couple of occasions spring to mind.
The first one was when I'd stopped at a takeaway on the way home after a sesh. I'd been OK up to then but trying to remount the bike with a carrier bag full of Chinese food was a bit of a challenge. After a couple of faltering attempts I finally got going but just as I was getting some momentum I noticed a copper watching me quite intently. This unnerved me enough to cause a wobble which became a catastrophe as I clipped the safety railings outside the primary school I was passing and came down with a bump. Luckily I was travelling so slowly that little harm was done, except to the food. I was trying to shovel it back into the containers when the copper approached. "This isn't going to end well", I thought but he was laughing his back off and just told me to get off home on foot or he would nick me.
Second one that comes to mind was me and my gf (now wife) riding up a snow covered railway track, in daylight, sober, to the pub. The snow was compacted and very slippery so we came off numerous times. After a few sherbets we set off home back down the track in the dark. Beer had made us incredibly skilful; what was difficult on the way up was a doddle on the way down. We slalomed back home without a single fall.
Beer is good.


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## Crankarm (1 Jun 2014)

I can't see how drinking alcohol so you end up legless and cycling are compatible. Period.
I don't drink anyway so wouldn't be going to or from a pub. Alcohol is bad for your health, a waste of money and does so much harm in so many ways.


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## Big Dave laaa (1 Jun 2014)

Done it loads of times but once when I'd had too many I smashed into a low wall and nearly fractured my skull. Its ok as long as you know your limits


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## Shut Up Legs (1 Jun 2014)

Rasmus said:


> I come from Denmark, a country known for heavy drinking, and ubiquitous cycling.
> 
> Make your own conclusions.


I come from Australia, a country known for heavy drinking, and stuff-all cycling. Where does that leave us?


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## theclaud (1 Jun 2014)

Crankarm said:


> I can't see how drinking alcohol so you end up legless and cycling are compatible. Period.
> I don't drink anyway so wouldn't be going to or from a pub. Alcohol is bad for your health, a waste of money and does so much harm in so many ways.


I ride around pissed all the time, just to make sure I don't end up like Crankers.


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## Tin Pot (1 Jun 2014)

glenn forger said:


> Ukrainian vodka, Bethnal Green to Leytonstone, about three miles, broken nose. Don't do it. My niece was staying with me, when she got home I was sat on the settee with my face covered in blood "What happened?" she gasped. "Ukrainian vodka!" I said, and went back to sleep.



A close friend of mine cycled into the back of a stationary, but occupied, police car in Catford many years hence. His story has been bringing occasional mirth to hundreds over the years.

I don't think I've cycled drunk, though I have cycled with a hangover so bad I had shakes, vomiting and diarrhoea. Luckily it was in a country without many laws, so morally it must've been okay.


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## theclaud (1 Jun 2014)

User said:


> Probably best.


I think so. Yesterday I did 88 miles and 8 pints, which seems about right. At least two of them were only session ales, though.


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## Crankarm (1 Jun 2014)

theclaud said:


> I ride around pissed all the time, just to make sure I don't end up like Crankers.



There can't be much to do in Swansea then …………………………… except drink.


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## theclaud (1 Jun 2014)

Crankarm said:


> There can't be much to do in Swansea then …………………………… except drink.


Yeah, I don't know we manage. If only we had something really exciting to do, like ride on a Guided Bus Way.


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## Crankarm (1 Jun 2014)

theclaud said:


> Yeah, I don't know we manage. If only we had something really exciting to do, like ride on a Guided Bus Way.



You should get out more, travel Claud. I am sure you'd enjoy riding the guided busway approx 15 miles of cycling bliss. It can't be good for you stuck in Swansea drinking to numb the boredom …..


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## theclaud (1 Jun 2014)

Crankarm said:


> You should get out more, travel Claud. I am sure you'd enjoy riding the guided busway *approx 15 miles of cycling bliss.* It can't be good for you stuck in Swansea drinking to numb the boredom …..



Looks monumentally dull to me, but each to their own. Still, at least it was cheap. Oh, wait...

Anyway, in the absence of this kind of cycling paradise to play in







I s'pose I'll just have to ride to the pub:


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## Crankarm (2 Jun 2014)

theclaud said:


> Looks monumentally dull to me, but each to their own. Still, at least it was cheap. Oh, wait...
> 
> Anyway, in the absence of this kind of cycling paradise to play in



Nice pic but there's no accounting for numptees. As you can see it is a smooth brand new road, 15 miles of it Claud, it's bliss ……….. yes bliss.


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## Glow worm (2 Jun 2014)

Crankarm said:


> Nice pic but there's no accounting for numptees. As you can see it is a smooth brand new road, 15 miles of it Claud, it's bliss ……….. yes bliss.


 
Except much of it spends an awful lot of the time submerged under several feet of floodwater!


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## JoeyB (2 Jun 2014)

I did this once or twice when I was 18. Rode home about 5 or 6 miles at 3/4ish in the morning on a weeknight! Had to be up for work (unskilled labourer) for 6am too. I remember one time I was riding on the pavement down the A32 into Gosport, and I must have fallen asleep as when I awoke I was riding down the middle of the road lol


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## User169 (2 Jun 2014)

Being off your face might help in some instances..


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## JoeyB (2 Jun 2014)

Delftse Post said:


> Being off your face might help in some instances..
> 
> View attachment 46687



The person that carried out the line painting!


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## Hip Priest (2 Jun 2014)

I've done it a couple of times after a few post-work pints. I knocked it on the head when I was nearly right-hooked. I realised that the accident would've been blamed on my blood alcohol level and not the idiot in the van.


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