Buzzed biking: Drunk bicycling is legal in Wisconsin. But is it a good idea? - Madison.com
“I use good judgment,” said the 31-year-old construction worker recently during a cigarette break outside Mickey’s Tavern on Williamson Street, steps away from the Capital City Bike Path. Riedel saddles up for the six-mile ride from his south side apartment to the popular Williamson Street bars “at least twice a week,” taking advantage of Wisconsin’s hands-off attitude toward the mixing of two of its signature cultural traits:... “Otherwise,” he said, “somebody’s going to say, ‘F--- it. I might as well drive if I’m going to get busted for drinking on my bike. With warm nights, street festivals and a vibrant brewpub scene, biking to beer-soaked venues is becoming a summer tradition in Madison. Some biking advocates, police officers and even some biking bar patrons have a problem with that. But those who have mixed biking and excess drinking argue that it’s safer to straddle a bike than to barrel down the road in two tons of steel when intoxicated. “It’s really only yourself that you’re putting into jeopardy, and even that is pretty minimal if you’re not acting like an idiot, wearing a helmet and using lights and that sort of thing,” said Manny Wagnitz, a 27-year-old bartender who forays out... “I think the chances of hurting yourself are pretty minimal, and the chances of hurting. Source: host.madison.com
