Originally Posted by
mymorningjacket
Been trying to to research for an upcoming bike tour next year.
I've been trying to come up with how much I'll be spending a day. I heard $10 is a very possible and very cheap goal to shoot for. Or is that way to extreme?
As for accommodations, I plan to couchsurf, use hostels or stealth camp as much as possible. Only using Hotels when I'm desperate.
Food is something I'm very curious about. I know of some easy recipes with oats or lentils in them. Also heard powdered cheese or milk can be very useful. Still don't know how much this will cost me. For example you can buy 1 kilo of oats for $4. Not saying i'd carry 2 pounds of oats around for me, so lets half it and say $2 per 1 pound. That lasts me about 3 meals. 1 of these meals a day for a month, thats $4x10 So thats $40 a month for one ingredient for one meal of the day.
Am I on the right track for calculating all this or am I all wrong?
How did you go about doing this?
What are some of your favorite recipes? Most tasty, cheapest?
What are some must need ingredients I'll need to always have stocked with me?
How much weight should I be carrying in food?
Thanks in advance guys
Depends on what your tolerance is for comfort! I don't enjoy eating poor quality high caloric food, refuse to eat jars of Pbutter days on end and don't care for fast food. I try and stick to a diet similar to what I eat at home, which doesn't need to be expensive, brown rice, quinoa, fresh fruit and veggies (road side stands), home made oatmeal (prepacked), water, camp coffee, etc. I try and be pragmatic as possible, if it's lunchtime, I'm hungry and have a big ride ahead, I'll do what I need to do and find someplace quick and splurge $$.
I've never done the math, but between campgrounds (average $5-15 a night), oatmeal for bfast, lunch on the road, dinner at camp....I probably spend on average $25-30. No cities, no hotels, no nice dinners out.
I'd spend less on my bike setup and lodging before I'd skimp on food. One thing I learned years ago while training and racing is never go hungry on the bike. You can give up a few calories a day here or there, but if you are in a caloric deficit multiple days, your going to grind yourself down, get sick, have little energy and generally feel like crap. It's not sustainable and depending on your 'goal', generally not much fun.
Easy dinner option: cup of quinoa, dried lentils, dried veggies, broth/bullion cube and some coconut oil, mix it all together and cook. Quinoa and lentils cook about same time.