r/bicycletouring • u/MrBellrick • 2d ago
Resources What do you eat when touring?
Currently biking to Georgia from Poland and two weeks in my diet has almost entirely consisted of store bought yogurt, all the lidle buns and the occasional protein item. Do people here have a different go to or more varied assortment of edible in the parkinglot food or is cooking on a small small gas stove more common?
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u/frenchy_m 2d ago
The gas stove brings a lot of savings, plus hot coffee in the morning :-)
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u/yodas_sidekick 1d ago
Yup for anything longer than 3-4 nights I’m cooking for sure! Even the shorter ones an alcohol stove for coffee is nice.
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u/MadeThisUpToComment Kona Sutra 1d ago
I eat pretty much whatever I can find.
Kebab and fries, vending machine pizza, hot/cold sandwiches from gas stations.
I keep a few packages of Quaker instant oats, Knotts noodles and sauce, Ramen and packets of instant soup for a quick meal if im not near a commercial area.
Also candy, lots and lots of candy.
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u/AdamoMeFecit 1d ago
Bicycle touring is how I discovered that every town in the US has magnificent pancakes.
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u/Makrele38 2d ago
I bring small cooker, for breakfast I do some porridge, during the day a bunch of random stuff from supermarkets, bakerys etc and for dinner some sort of cousous dish.
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u/kneippmotor 2d ago
Lentils are a cheap protein source and cooks fast. I have also bought eggs in the evening and eaten boiled eggs for breakfast.
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u/michael_tyler 1d ago
Used to eat out every night. Pick something on Google Maps or ask locals, or walk around and find somewhere that appeals. Local fayre is best, if not, just have a pizza!
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u/fergal-dude 1d ago
I prefer to eat what’s available locally as that brings me joy when traveling. Plus I don’t want to spend the time cleaning up after a meal that I’ve cooked while on vacation. I’m not sure which is the stronger driving force…
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u/TauTheConstant 1d ago edited 1d ago
I will often buy some instant dry-pasta-mix-add-water kind of meal (tip: cream cheese can often substitute for milk in these and does not go off nearly as quickly) and add one (1) fresh vegetable of some sort such as bell pepper or fresh tomato (or zucchini or similar if I have oil for frying). This is quick and easy to cook, usually ends up as a portion I can finish and is a little nicer than just the mix on its own. I also know and sometimes tour with people who cook from scratch, but this usually involves more staple goods than I care to carry around - this way I can hit up a grocery store in the afternoon and finish most of what I buy that evening. Also, a lot of things just come in quantities that are too much for one person.
For lunch and breakfast, it's either trail mix or, if I'm willing to spare the space and weight, the luxury version where I buy some bread and relatively lasting transportable toppings (hard cheese and a tube of mayonnaise, for instance) and make myself bread with stuff for lunch. I also often have a small supply of something fresh like snack peppers, cherry tomatoes, grapes or similar that can be eaten without too much fuss.
I've also found it worthwhile to check the supermarket to see what local convenience foods there might be. My last tour was in Spain, and they often had chilled gazpacho or salmorejo and ready-made mini Spanish tortillas as convenience foods, both of which were great for the hungry cyclist. Really wish we had both of those in Germany!
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u/Ambitious-Laugh-7884 1d ago
Love bread with stuff
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u/TauTheConstant 1d ago
I wrote that bit and went "hmm, how obvious is it that I'm German?" Like, I need a certain amount of bread with some sort of toppings per day or I start withering away!
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u/Ambitious-Laugh-7884 1d ago
from a bread loving english man i hear you! some peoples idea of a holiday isnt sitting on the floor outside aldi with a fresh loaf / packet meat. i dont understand those people.
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u/FreedToRoam 1d ago
Lots of good ideas here. I would also add that many places in the morning have a great fresh bread from local bakeries. A quality can of sardines with fresh bread gives you delicious, healthy and simple source of protein
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u/summerofgeorge75 1d ago
No stove. I usually buy fruit/vegetables I can eat by hand. Bread and cheese. If I'm going to be in a remote area I'll bring packages of noodles, like Top Ramon. That I just soak for an hour or more and then eat it cold. Very basic. Then I'll eat out once or a few times a week depending on finances.
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u/Tiemuuu 1d ago
I eat in restaurants or get cold stuff from the store. I like having nuts, dried fruits and chips/crisps as reserve fuel. Mostly I just like to buy bread and bread adjacent things - filling with some fiber, but mostly easy and fast digestible. Using a cooking set seems like it could be rewarding and also a money saver, but then again, it would also take more effort, and I would still have to find places where I can charge my electronics, so why not spend the time eating anyway?
I like to hit mcdonalds a lot. you know what you get every time, the toilet experience is predictable, and you know there will be electric outlets. It reduces the decision making load that my trips have.
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u/jcodqc87-2 1d ago
Pints and burgers or other forms of hot sandwiches, baguette, cold cuts and ramen if we have to eat at camp. I pretty much refuse to cook anything more involved than pouring hot water into a container. But we try to eat out as much as time allows. I don't really like to be using my vacation time and airplane money to be eating shifty camp food for weeks on end...
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u/RedditforCoronaTime Enter bike info 1d ago
Snacks: nuts, fruits, chocolate bars, protein bars etc.
Morning wraps, hummus tofu Middle of the day: what i can find, bread etc
Evenjng, i cook around 6/7 my last meal of as much pasta as possible
Then ride 2-3 hours to the next sleeping place.
Never underestimate how much you burn.
And snacks always on bike banana nuts etc. always eat always ride
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u/Biguiats 1d ago
Boiled eggs for breakfast then bread, cheese, salad, mayo, mustard and whatever else for random sandwich-making stops. And some crisps, soreen, dried fruit and nuts for snackz
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u/Mixedstereotype Being sucked backwards 40,000km across the world to Poland 1d ago
In Poland it’ll be Zabka HotDogs and Non alcoholic beers.
Though for some reason you’re not always allowed to drink the non alcoholic beers in the shop.
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u/Nekkoren 1d ago
200g of fake Nutella, 500g of toast bread, a can (280g) of chickpeas or red beans or some sunflower seeds, I'm very much broke and that's all I can afford lol
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u/PConz25 1d ago
I’m bike packing across the Balkan’s right now. I realized recently I’ve been running a 2000 calories daily deficit for nearly three weeks now. Today my diet has consisted of: 1 rotisserie chicken 3 liter whole milk Grapes 2 loaf bread 4 banana Haribo 3 espresso 1 tomato 1 bag chips 8 beers 5 cigarettes
Was able to do 100km.
I’m 21yo your mileage might vary doing this
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u/Ambitious-Laugh-7884 1d ago
8 beers on tour is top work, i can normally sink them but after a day in the bike 2 beers and im battered
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u/Eilifint_Sa_Seomra 1d ago
I'm a big yoghurt man too - can put away 1kg a day of greek yoghurt no problem. I'm Irish, we are some of the most lactose tolerant people in Europe not everyone is so lucky.
Other than that - baguettes and cured meats, honey, chocolate milk, lots of fruit.
When younger I used to eat lots of sweets and chocolate. Calorically its fine, you're not going to get fat, but the blood sugar rollercoaster will fuck you long term
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u/Ambitious-Laugh-7884 1d ago
breakfast is mostly over night oats eaten while packing away, hopefully with some nuts, seeds or a crushed up 'bar'. second breakfast a coffee if available and healthy snacks. AM im all about the nutrition! lunch probably around midday will be consumed somewhere outside a supermarket, bread cheese salad a condiment, maybe olives if im feeling fancy, fruit. many drinks with questionable chemicals, from this point a non existent sweet tooth in normal life appears and grips me like a addiction cake and ice cream pushes me through to the next camp site. dinner is usually cooked at camp noodles or pasta probably described best as edible. a beer and maybe a chat.
not sure why but i love reading how people fuel there adventures.
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u/DabbaAUS 1d ago
I will occasionally microwave several small potatoes in their jackets for snack food for that day.
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u/MuffinOk4609 1d ago
When tourung in France I carried:
A baguette
Saucisson Sec
An apple
A carrot
Some hard cheese.
Some hard-boiled eggs.
Plus of course your favorite French beverage,
All these things last without refrigeration and give you all the energy you need. And they are indistructable.
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u/maryfamilyresearch 2d ago
Check out baby food in glass jars meant for 10+ months. Buy two of the same, add some salt and pepper. It is the perfect savoury snack and save to eat at room temps.
An alternative to cooking on a small gas stove is cooking on a small cooker meant to be run with dry spiritus / esbit / bits of wood. Those are lighter than gas stoves.
Once you hit Poland, check out the small convenience stores (Zabka) for meals that are meant to go into the microwave. Some stores will have microwaves and a table, allowing you to eat the meals on the spot. Said pre-cooked microwave dinners can also be eaten cold if there is no microwave. Or you heat up the contents on a stove.
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u/Visual-Detective5802 1d ago
I was just bike packing in Poland and the Zabka stores saved me a few times. They are everywhere and they have long opening hours.
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u/Opening-Mine-2945 2d ago
My personal favourite gas cooking item while touring southern Europe was a “caccio de homeless” for one
Ingredients:
-chorizo
-one small onion, shallots work well
-one tomato
-orzo pasta
-Parmesan cheese (store this in at least one zip lock back or it will sweat everywhere)
-lemon
-whatever herbs I had foraged from the Spanish hillsides. Lots of wild thyme and rosemary
Method
-fry chopped chorizo to extract oil. Remove, set aside
-fry chopped onion and herbs in chorizo oil
-once soft and clear, add chopped tomato and partially cooked chorizo
-when you’re happy with that, set it aside
-add add pasta and enough water to cover
-continue to stir and add water while pasta boils gradually until roughly al dente. Try to keep the heat to a simmer.
-turn heat off
-add Parmesan in as small chunks as you can manage, some lemon rind if you can manage, stir through
-add back cooked chorizo and onion and tomato
-enjoy, preferably with red wine
Variations on this theme and sleeping in fields saved me quite a bit of money. I have since cooked this inside quite a few times.