Gorp. Lots and lots of gorp, all day long, every time I stop for water. Mealtime proper was usually spaghetti, tuna helper, and the like... things easy to boil, mostly!

skookum are you a hobbit touring in the shire?

No kidding! I like to bring simple things. Ramen noodles, pasta packets, rice packets, oatmeal. Easy to fix. Can't screw it up.

My reward for a long day's ride (if I can find it) PIZZA and cold brewskis! :D

you could evan go to your local REI or other type store GI joes or something and pick up some of those backpacking meals i had a few and they arnt to bad and cost about as much as a big mac meal... "i dont eat those BM's anymore" but for 3 meals yer looking at 15 a day that isnt to bad i dont think...

here is a link u cna probly find them cheaper somwhere else... but make sure u look at how many it serves

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Sear...cat=REI_SEARCH

hotwheels

Yup, hairy feet and all

Kodama

Well I would never carry JW and single malt at the same time. Sometimes JW is all you can get.
Don't knock it. As medicine it beats Unicum or Gameldansk

Go big or go home. No point feeling weak and tired on a bike tour.

Can't help but be a little jealous.

Dole fruit now comes in plastic re-closeable jars. Mandarin oranges, pineaple chunks...mmm. Have some after buying at the store, then save some for dessert after supper. Toss 'em on top of that half pint of ice cream you "have to eat now"-or it will melt..., then have the rest with your oatmeal in the morning.

For pasta variety check out the Barrila brand tortalini, shelf stable-dried+stuffed (cheese, mushroom others). If you don't want to mess up your cook pot with tomato sauce, use a bit of olive oil on the drained pasta+add cheese.

For a pot cleaning (and in camp water conservation) tip, save pasta/rice drain water+use it to clean your cook pot-its also allready warm. Saves slogging off to get more water if none is close at hand.

If you are really hard up for carbohydrates/calories-DRINK the pasta drain water-it has lots of "good" carbs (as opposed to simple fast metabolizing sugars). I've done this a bit on long backpacking trips, where re-supply is too far off+made my evening cocoa with it (I call it my super energy dessert drink). Shouldn't be required cycle touring unless you are a week away from re-supply. However it ("bonus carbs") may come in handy if you know you have an all day climb the next day.

[edit] Powdered chocolate pudding mix is a pretty darned tasty option instead of hot cocoa. Ends up kind of a gel as it cools (not quite pudding)-a great drink/dessert.

If you have time before you leave, check out how I make a "cozy" (see thread). These save fuel by allowing pasta/rice/oatmeal to continue to "cook" off the flame, or just to keep hot meals and drinks hot. With a "cozy", my morning coffee(in a nalgene) and oatmeal(in a bowl) are still nice and toasty while I let them sit+break down+clean up camp-then eat. In fact my coffee is usually still too hot to drink. These are really easy to make (litterally minutes with scissors), once you can get the insulation. They are also pretty durable, I still have one that I used for a month long backpack trip 3 summers ago. One got a bit randy from food spillage-so I simply tossed it when I got home.

Disclaimer/credits: I picked up the "cozy" idea from one of the lightweight backpacking sites alla Ray Jardine etc.

You know, you've just reminded me that the *order* of our food consumption at a meal is very much dictated by social mores. Many are the times when I have got stuck into the sweet and tasty stuff that should be dessert *first* on arriving at camp... canned fruit, yoghurt, a variety of other yummy stuff... then getting down to the "mundane" task of cooking the main course. After the main course is out of the way, I may settle into biscuits and cheese and a beer or a wine. Way, way out of kilter, but totally satisfying!

I am very much a believer of a reward after a good day of touring. Reward always means food... and dessert type food works well for me. Many is the time I have set up camp, and looked at the ditty-bag with food and gone for the easy solution -- ravenously! Hopefully, there might be a left-over donut, or one of those supreme French chocolat eclairs I go on about all the time!!! If not, I could be grumpy for a while.

Trouble is, I get home, and settle into the same routine -- open the fridge door for an icecream with frozen bananas and chocolate topping... then cook up a curry or pasta or grilled dish of some sort.

Should there be a group for people like me: "Hello, I'm Rowan, and I have an eating problem..."

I use a beany hat to both wrap my Trangia set in and as the cozy. And when it gets cold, it doubles as a head warmer on me. Now, I really think that's lightweight, triple-use logic! Does that put me up there with Ray Jardine in legendary status. :D

Splendid idea! Some of Rays ideas are great-but some on the other hand are a bit in left field for me. A lot of his nutritional (organic) thinking makes sense-but availabity while cycling would prove problematic (for me).

I agree, but also I have to be careful, depending upon what I snack on rite when I get to camp. I've had occasion to overdo it with "empty" calories first, then lose my apetite+not have a decent meal. My oh my have I paid for it the next day. Thats when I usually will be dragging all day long, perhaps with thoughts of quiting etc.

I hear ya'. I've come home from long trips (hiking/cycling) losing weight, and continued with a similar eating habit for a bit. Then gone on to put on an extra goodly bit of weight, untill my eating habits catch up with the slower "normal" metabolism. Takes a loong time to lose the extra weight, sometimes not even untill my next trip. -One of the joys of an active holiday: "eating anything you want", and still losing weight!

FATS, SUGAR, CARBS--Not bad. Now if you chase it down with Jack Daniels you'll have all four food groups in one handy, delicious meal.

My favorite portable protein takes some prepwork before you go, but it's cheap, light, and satisfying: Freeze a block of tofu (or 2, or 3) overnight, let it thaw, then squeeze all the water out. Slice into strips, and marinate it for a few hours in your favorite sauce (barbecue sauce, salad dressing, or make your own). Dehydrate it if you have a dehydrator, or you can bake it on the lowest setting with the oven door slightly open, and flip the pieces over evey 30 mins or so until the tofu is dry and crispy. Carry it in ziplock bags on your trip, it will keep for days, is full of protein, and weighs practically nothing.

If you can get an empty wide-mouthed plastic jar, fill it 2/4 with oats, dried fruit, granola, or anything else you want. Top it off with any kind of liquid (even plain water is good) close the lid, and let it soak for a few hours while you ride or sleep. Open the jar, and you've got a cheap, mushy, good-tasting snack. I also did this with some really good meusli that I found in grocery stores in Europe. When you finish, you just rinse out the jar, which weighs almost nothing when it's empty.

When I was in Italy I bought olives everywhere, and ate them by the kilo. They're cheap, delicious, and give you a lot of energy.

Two words: chocolate milk.

Well, I think you've already left on your trip, but I'll add my suggestion:

couscous!

my fella and I rode across Pennsylvania and found that couscous was an awesome dinner, even several nights in a row. a little bit goes a long way, and all you have to do is boil a little water. once the water boils, you cut the heat and put the couscous in, cover, and give it 5 minutes to absorb. I brought a few spices along, and found that the snacks we had with us for the day (like dried fruit) made a great addition to the couscous. My favorite: Couscous, a little curry, and dried pineapple.

Whole dried bananas. You can pack like 2 dozen in very little space. They keep well and are yummy and high in potassium and complex carbs. Hard dry salamis - take several. Semibitter chocolate block. Whole-food based multivitamin/mineral tablets. That's it for stuff you pack - it's emergency/supplemental sustenance, and the good stuff can be hard to find outside of larger towns. The rest you buy as you go: grape nuts cereal (dense, good slow-burn maltose), milk, pasta, bread, roast chickens, beer, cheese, beer, carrots, fruit, beer, etc.

damn i want to tour the coast again.

Muesli, fruit, raw vegetables/salad, soup, beans, noodles, bread and cheese, tea, fruit juice.

The harder I exercise, the more my body craves fresh, unadulterated produce. I become quite intolerant of the kind of junk I crave, when sitting on the couch.

Stove gets used primarily for hot drinks, then I'll do some pasta or noodles, every couple of days- more often if it's cold weather.

I just stumbled across this very useful web site: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com

Like many, I hate to prepare food. Thank goodness I'm married to an excellent cook and I'm willing to clean up whatever she makes. We're planning some 2-4 day family cycling/camping getaways next year, and I was concerned about the food part.

This web site has about 40 recipes; I ordered the book, which is self-published for $13 plus shipping and contains another 150 recipes.

Once in a while, you run across an idea that's so brilliant you just have to support it.

Hope this is helpful for my fellow cooking-phobes out there.

Ken

Pasta and sauces
couscous with spices and fruit
Harina Tostada ..toasted flour mixed with water or milk

I use individual soups, or stock cubes to add flavour to rice or pasta
and dried fruit adds to the recipe.

nothing amazing I know but they are light, quick, and use a single pot.

Tin of tuna or corned beef ,loads of cakes bicuits( cookies) and beer.

george

They say that hunger is the best sauce, so I guess my "Favorite Touring Food" is whatever I happen to be shoving in my gape at the time.

Ya got a great start. Canned Tuna and peanut butter are staples (not together though). Don't forget to gobble down tons of bread and cookies. For dinner, what I usually do is buy 1 or two sausage, an onion, potato, and tomato and cook it all together in my frypan till i get the veggies reasonably cooked.

ALmost all roadside convenience stores now have decent deli's, so you can get sandwiches right on the road as well...either pre-made or buy a few slices and make one of your own.

roughstuff

Breakfasts: cereals & milk, orange juice (all available from gas stations)

PowerBars of all kind, bananas, Cup Noodles, Pasta Roni, Dairy Queen anything :). Tended to eat at places that were bike-friendly along the way. Anything quick & easy to cook since I often turned up at campgrounds quite late due to sight-seeing :)

Just got a tin of chili etc plus pack of beer (get a Delta Cargo Net II as they're great for loading hard-to-handle loads) on the rack ;) before arriving at campground (so not lugging them around), Lays.

1 emergency freeze-dried meal (just in case!)

Gatorade & water for the ride. Beer from the gas stations at night (very cheap & great selections of micros). Powdered Gatorade is very handy where grocery stores are few & far between (it does happen).

The Spring/Kirkendall book often led me (English) to thinking that the "last grocery store..." was the last place to get food from when very often, there would be gas stations with great selections of food, drink etc closer to the destinations.

The Pelican Pub in Pacific City, OR is a place you shouldn't miss. It was a really great sight coming down the hill from the north (check your brakes!). Fantastic views over the ocean & good food. Roadhouse BBQ in Gualala, CA was very friendly the night I was there, back in May. Izzy's Pizza in Newport, WA was a good find with their "all-you-can-eat" buffet. Plenty of choice, even for a picky eater like me! :) .... All these places were roadside & not trips off the main route so you will see them & plenty more.

The best thing to do is do you own thing. You may find places others have missed.

I would recommend cooking any of the Lipton noodle dinners that come in a pouch, and then dump in a pouch of tuna. It's filling, tastes more or less pretty good, provides a lot of calories, necessary fat and protein. The Lipton dinner costs about 1.79 or so, and the tuna a little less, so you get a cheap, easy-to-prepare meal. Of course, my hunger was off the chart, so I always ate the entire Lipton package in one sitting.

David in FL

I have yet to tour I have some stuff planned for the spring summer. I go backpacking all the time I usually bring summer sasuage and a fine pilaf rice and a block o cheese and mix it for dinner and use the fine pilaf rice as a breakfest also I use oatmeal as well. I get the lipton rices and mix those with water or the summer sausage or tuna or un refigerated tofu. I always carry freeze dried foods because they are a great emergency food. They are great also when you are so tired that setting up the tent is a challenge because all you have to do is boil water and dump it in the bag and let set. Freeze dried is a mini gourmet meal when you are away from the house or good resturants