Dan Artley says in reference to the CONI cycling book:
"This was back when coca cola was an energy drink."
Pssst, Dan - it still is <g>. If you get to Cirque this year ask my significant other how he survived PBP and other brevet events. He swears by the stuff. The last time I was bonky and nauseous during some awful Southern summer ride, I let him twist my arm - and well, carbonated sugar water fixed me right up. Not too cold, sipped slowly. It was a lot easier to tolerate then a warm energy drink the color of a neon mid 80s bicycle...
I seem to remember reading about the TDF riders smoking a cigarette before a stage to "open up the lungs." Hopefully not advice found in the CONI book <g>.
Ann Phillips, Decatur GA