Originally Posted by nebben123

I'm all for different food lifestyle choices, but anyone who goes on a raw diet should know that it has the potential to be dangerous (like everything) if you don't do it correctly. Many people assume that anything raw is better for them to eat than cooked, and this is not always the case. I know this because I was vegan for three years. Just make sure you do your homework first. And no, cooked food is not bad for you either

Originally Posted by cyclefish

I eat cookies while riding.

Originally Posted by Happy Feet

In another 15 years someone will post in .....

Originally Posted by Rowan

A couple of observations:

1. To cook on a bike tour, you need to know how to cook at home. I often get the feeling that people who tour and eat exclusively at cafes or "cold" simply don't want to admit they can't cook. Of course, apologies to those who *can* cook but for some unfathomable reason don't on tour.

2. The time spent preparing, cooking and cleaning up after a meal is a bit like the old (and I think forgotten) family gathering time at home. I mean... what else are you going to do after you get into camp and have set up? Lie around doing nothing? Well... that's OK, but there is a sort of community in cooking, whether at your tent, or in the campground kitchen. It gives you a chance to interact with others with similar interests, and to pick a bit of information about where you're going and where they've been.

3. What to cook? The sky is the limit! It all depends on your skills (refer item 1). There are countless recipes out there for all sorts of meals. Fresh fruit and vegetables and varieties of potted, canned, smoked or fermented meat are available where most posters are likely to tour. A few condiments and spices can make the world of difference. Really, there are only three or four basic recipes. Take a look at the pictures attached to this post. The curry is lamb made with vegetables bought much earlier in the day; the pancakes speak for themselves. All cooked on a trusty Trangia alcohol stove. I think Stokell has some samples of his culinary art stashed somewhere, too. But you do need to practice at home with your camp stove when your stomach isn't necessarily depending on your to come up with a tasty, nourishing meal reasonably efficiently.

4. I know that when people say they prefer to pick up groceries each night that they haven't really been remote cycle touring in areas such as the Canadian Rockies where shops are very few and far between and what there is stocks expensive rubbish. As in hiking/bushwalking, "remote" cycle-touring does present its challenges in planning menus and food supplies. Like any other part of cycle touring, there is a degree of planning needed.

5. Part of that planning requires you have unused room in your panniers for food.

6. I wonder sometimes, too, at the endless budgets some people have to go on tour. Good luck to you. But for me, bought food in restaurants or takeaway/fast-food joints is just so, so expensive, and it is easy to blow $15 a day just in that. And after a while, it's much the same fare and can become boring. Add another $15 to $25 a night for campground accommodation and suddenly you're up to $40 a day without any other costs. I can't afford that sort of lucre, but it's not going to stop me going on long tours where I am fully self-supported.

6. I like hot meals in the evening except in high summer. That's the way I am. Others might like cold everything. But without a stove, you can't enjoy a coffee, tea or chocolate late in the evening, or if the weather turns nasty, you can't satisfy your inner soul with a cold drink of water.

Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN

This 15 year old thread is reminding me to clean out my fridge and discard anything older than that.

Originally Posted by indyfabz

Save the Oscar Meyer hotdogs. They last forever.

Originally Posted by CliffordK

Man, if only I had kept a few Twinkees from the 70's, it would be a great scientific experiment.

Originally Posted by craig_dahlke

When I went on my first tour at 18 years old, I literally packed 2 panniers full of cliff bars and apples. I went 2 weeks without needing a resupply haha.

Originally Posted by craig_dahlke

When I went on my first tour at 18 years old, I literally packed 2 panniers full of cliff bars and apples. I went 2 weeks without needing a resupply haha.