I am very comfortable eating stoveless as I dislike the hassle of cooking if it's just me (I enjoy the social aspect of cooking with others). I wouldn't do the cold soaking thing though. It's pretty easy to just choose foods that you can eat without prep, especially if you can hit a store on a daily basis. Starbucks has a pretty good Via iced coffee mix that I put in a water bottle and drink for my caffeine fix.

I think it's a lot like camping. Some people want to do it and others don't and insist on the hotel experience. Of course staying in a hotel is "more pleasant" than camping but (for me) there is a sense of satisfaction in knowing I can rough it once in a while. Same with eating stoveless on a bike trip.

Longer term off the grid would be more of a challenge. I'm down to a SS cup/pot, can opener, spoon and small stove for a basic kitchen. Ahead of time I break down foods like mashed potatoes, couscous, oatmeal, ramen etc... into individual serving size vacuum sealed sandwiche bags and calculate how much water to add to them. On the road I just boil water, split it between a drink and meal and add it to the bag - and eat out of the bag too. No dishes to wash and trash is pretty compact (all goes in one of the sandwiche bags). It's a very efficient way to package food as well as the sandwiche bags conform to the shape of whatever container one is using for food storage.

Dinner at Rampart Creek, Columbia Icefield Parkway. Garlic mashed potatoes, herb and butter Couscous and some Wild Orange herbal tea:



The social aspect of cooking. Making camp biscuits for my brother and son on our Gulf Island tour: