There have been many vegetarian (and vegan) cyclists. I am not one of them, although I have been severely dropped by one (thanks, Tim) and they have organisation. In my other life I have been fascinated by the history of empirical psychology, and have found many examples where recent research papers cover ground forgotten (the extraordinary empirical work of Roger Barker comes to mind).

I was entertained to find a beautifully controlled study from the 30s by George Macfeat Wishart (in The Journal of Physiology) which looked at cycling performance under a number of different vegetarian diets. It turned out that animal protein helps, but not because it is better per se, just because it is easier to consume in the quantities required. Doing a quick cost-benefit analysis might make one feel the advantages of steak consumption are outweighed by the disadvantages of accidental contamination with growth hormones. Or not…

Zabriskie, anyone…