EarlVanDorn

I have a one-week solo trip planned to bike on the Mosel coming up in about 10 days. I managed to get a $525 air fare to Amsterdam on BA/American, which is unbelievably low for flyover country; train fare is going to be about 25 euros each way.

I’m trying to do things as cheaply as possible and have decided to tent camp (with electric hookup). My planned trip is just over 100 miles and I’ve scheduled five days to do it in plus an extra day on the end if needed. This is a slow pace, but I have fairly severe exercised-induced asthma and general shortness of breath, so it’s my only option (an inhaler before starting and during the ride does help, but doesn’t solve the problem). I am not proud and will often push my bike up hills!

I originally planned to book a hotel for my first and last nights, but decided instead to just tent camp every night. I’d like to prepare my own meals instead of relying on restaurants.

Now for the question about the induction plate. I’m thinking about buying one in Trier or Koblenz, probably at a Galeria Kaufhof store unless someone has a better idea (I can’t order a 220v version off Amazon). If I’m lucky I should be able to find one weighing about five pounds. If not, it could weigh up to eight pounds. I plan to bring two carbon-steel pots weighing two pounds, and I figure other cooking supplies will add about four pounds; so total cooking supplies will weigh 11-14 pounds. Have any of you ever used an induction plate while bike-camping, and if so were you happy with your decision? I've tried to Google this and have found very little info.

ALTERNATIVE OPTION: Although it is not what I want to do, I’ve thought about buying a 220-volt electric kettle either off Amazon or in Germany; this will weight about two pounds or less. Some of these double as a cook pot for noodles or pasta. I figure I could get by with supermarket bread and cheese plus Mountain Home brand freeze-dried meals, which get good reviews. If I did this I would probably still bring a couple of light-weight pots and spices because I’ve read that some campgrounds have kitchen facilities available. I can’t imagine that I could simmer a pot of red beans for three hours in a shared kitchen, though.

Any other comments are also welcome!
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Additional info: I am aware that buying the induction plate is an “expense,” but I see it as a capital outlay and not part of the daily expense total. Also, I’m 57, somewhat poor physical condition but not way fat, and have hotel-biked on the Saar/Mosel or Lake Constance/Rhine for the past three summers. I was traveling with my daughter, who can be quite ornery, so we ended up using the train or bus more than I would have liked; I really want to do the entire trip by bike if possible. If this trip works out well for me I might try starting in Saarlouis or Thionville in a future effort. I am packing very light as far as clothes are concerned, so my main weight is going to be cooking and camping gear.

Also: Weather report says it is going to be about five degrees colder than I expected. May need to get a fleece sleeping bag liner!

fietsbob

Make a solar collector ..

Hostels have group kitchens to use, why carry a heavy thing with you ?

if you otherwise want one, have the shop mail it to your house.
I'd probably get VAT Refund paperwork filled out , and mail that, in ,
stamped when you exit.. the Euro zone..



...

EarlVanDorn

Thanks fietsbob. I'm going to be tent camping rather than staying in hostels, so worried that kitchen facilities might be random.

I'm going to have to buy in Europe since I'm leaving in 10 days. Most of these 220v items take a month to arrive when ordered off Amazon.

Tourist in MSN

You made it clear you are not interested in hostels, but if I was you I would at least know where a good hostel is near the airport so if you change your mind before you leave EU, you could stay there for a night instead of camping on your last night. You never know if it might be raining, in which case if you had their phone number you might want to call and see if they have an openning if you change your mind at the last minute.

I have never even considered a hot plate on a camping trip, but I sometimes have carried a small immersion heater so I can make a cup of coffee in the morning if I am at a motel. Looks like REI no longer sells the 240 volt one.
https://www.rei.com/product/781694/r...-heater-120240

If you have never used an immersion heater like that, you put the heater in your cup of water before you plug it in. And you unplug it before you take it out of the water. If it is plugged in for even a second and not immersed in water, it will immediately burn out. The heater is in the cup in my photo, next to the powdered instant espresso jar.




I was going to suggest you get one of these before you leave, but since REI no longer sells them you probably could not get one soon enough.

I am not suggesting it as a substitute for a hot plate to cook on, but it can make a cup of boiling water if you have a packet of ramen or something like that. Then you have an alternative to use if you have any delay in getting your hot plate.

Since motel rooms in EU generally lack coffee makers, I always bring my heater to Europe with me.

avole

Before you do anything else, check all campsites are open. Many close at the end of this month.

fietsbob

Alcohol stoves don't need a plug in power source. they are a simple DIY

Or pick up the Swedish Trangia..

Gaz Butane cartridge stoves are common in Europe, too..

indyfabz

For me, one of the joys of riding in Europe is the local fare. I would skip the hot plate and spend the money on eating meals out.

EarlVanDorn

I sorta agree on this. I'm thinking there is a lot to be said for waiting to take an induction plate until several people are traveling together. A small kettle for coffee in the morning, paired with a couple of granola bars will get me going. Might still take a couple of pots and spices in case the campsites have kitchens, and if not, eat in a restaurant.

dh024

14 lbs of cooking gear for a one-week trip? That is more than all my camping and cooking gear weigh combined for a one week trip. What's the intense desire to bring two pots and have an induction cooktop?

My experience is that when I am cycling all day, I don't really have the energy or desire to prepare and cook up a full meal, especially if I also have to be thinking about setting up and tearing down a camp each day. Boil in the bag meals that only require hot water are much more appealing to me, especially since they take little effort and there is little to clean-up. What's your rationale here? It would help for people to offer advice to your main question.

indyfabz

As someone who likes to cook both at home and when I tour, my rationale for carrying a rather elaborate kitchen (never weighed all my cooking at eating gear, but I seriously doubt it's 14 lbs.) is that I like a tasty, healthy, satisfying meal after a day's ride. I also enjoy the challenge of coming up with something halfway decent when pickings are slim. I can whip up a nice pasta dish with veggies and some sort of protein (chicken, sausage, fail-packed tuna or salmon, canned crab) in about 40 min. measured from when I sit down to start prep. Dish complexity and water temperature can affect the time, but not by a whole lot.

I never leave home without olive oil and fresh garlic. I cheated with this meal back in June. Added some pre-cooked roasted vegetables because the selection at the country store in Vermont was somewhat limited. I normally would have gone with fresh tomatoes. The farm-made sausage was terrific. Doing dishes takes 10 min. Tonight's menu at home features roasted whole bronzino stuffed with herbs and lemon.

3speed

Leebo

Tiny stove, either alcohol or one of those gas/butane things. One small pot, 1-2 lbs max.

davester

This seems completely crazy to me. There is no logical reason to carry an induction hotplate and the heavy pots required. As others above have noted, there are all manner of camping stoves and pots that are relatively inexpensive, vastly lighter than an induction hotplate, don't require locating a power source, and work perfectly. Also, the simple water heater shown in post #4 is a great addition to a camping stove.

EarlVanDorn

As I noted in a post above, I'm going to skip the induction plate for this solo trip. If traveling with a group it would be more worthwhile.

The 14-pound figure I noted was a maximum amount. I have a 110v induction plate that only weighs five pounds but didn't know if I could get one that light in Europe. Two pots only weigh two pounds. The remaining "weight" was for food, spices, etc., and may be overstated. Also, maybe I'm missing something, but the small butane stoves I've seen on Amazon weigh almost five pounds, which might be no lighter than an induction plate. I'm trying to find a small, portable kettle for this trip just to be able to heat some water.

indyfabz

I think you need to do some research into cooking gear.

Just off the top of my head, here is a two-pot set weighing 1 lb.:

https://www.rei.com/product/114884/m...t-15-25-liters

3.75 ounce butane stove:

https://www.rei.com/product/643058/s...wer-auto-stove

The MSR pocket rocket is less than 3 ounces. Searching Amazon for "backpacking stove" returns several lightweight options.

Spent 7 weeks touring Spain with a similar butane burner. I doubt my Optimus Nova or MSR Dragonfly with full fuel bottle weighs 5 lbs.

I make coffee every morning when I tour. No need for a kettle. Boil the water in one of my two pots.

I'm am now suspicious about the "honesty" of this thread, so I am going to bow out.

Tourist in MSN

Maybe you are looking at something like this for your weight estimate.
https://www.amazon.com/GS-1000-Porta...O6M/ref=sr_1_3

But I think the rest of us are thinking something like one of these. These use a cannister that is predominantly butane with small amounts of propane and/or iso-butane.
https://www.rei.com/s/butane-stoves?...ter&origin=web

EarlVanDorn

I'm sorry you question my honesty. I actually have a little gas stove of the type you describe; it screws onto a one-pound propane tank. I had planned to bring it, but my Internet research said it was difficult to find the tanks in Europe. I didn't rush to buy a similar butane stove because of doubts as to where or if I could buy fuel to fit it. I take it from some of the responses that butane tanks for these stoves are available everywhere in Europe and that's good to know and file away.

As I've already said, I'm going to refrain from buying an induction plate on this trip. If traveling with a group I might do differently. I just ordered a 19-ounce collapsible electric kettle that weighs a pound that I can use to make coffee in the morning and maybe some oatmeal; all of the campsites have electricity. I also bought two Mountain Home freeze-dried meals that I can make with hot water that I can use if I want to eat at the campsite. The rest of the time I'll eat out.

I said in my first post that I had never bike-camped in my life. Forgive me if my question might have seemed dumb or over-the-top to you. And thanks to those who responded.

Darth Lefty 

Tourist in MSN

The propane tanks are easily available in the USA, you can use those tanks for torches for plumbing work and I have some such propane cannisters for my table top Webber propane grill. BUT, virtually nobody uses a propane stove for bike camping, propane has to be stored at very high pressure, the tanks are quite heavy because there is a lot of steel in those tanks.

Thus the butane (or more accurately the mixtures that are predominantly butane) do not need to be stored at such high pressures, their tanks are much lighter weight. A butane cannister that holds about 220 or 230 grams of fuel only weighs about 140 grams when empty. That is why these cannisters are much more popular for camping.

The threaded cannisters are available in most parts of the world, but in Europe the closer you get to France the more likely that you might find the unthreaded cannisters. The photo shows two cannisters, the one on the right is threaded and the stoves on the REI link that I listed in a post above should work. But the cannister on the left is unthreaded, the stoves that fit on that stove are more rare.

I have a MSR Superfly stove that is supposed to work on both kinds of cannisters in the photo, but I have not had a chance to test it on the unthreaded cannisters yet. I have talked to other campers that carry two stoves if they plan to go to France, one that goes on threaded cannisters and a stove that will go on the unthreaded cannisters for the part of their trip in France.

If there are any sharp parts on a stove, if it is in your carry on bag, TSA might confiscate it. I had a TSA inspector look at one of my stoves and he then said that the pot support probably could not cut anything but he said that it looked like a saw blade on the X ray machine. I did not lose the stove, but since then I decided that the stove goes in the checked luggage, not the carry on.

cyccommute 

I'm not sure what you searched for but it looks to me like they are readily available in most of Europe. France seems to be a bit of a desert, however.

Camping, in general, usually means doing without a lot of amenities like, well, electricity. I wouldn't assume that there would be electricity available at every campsite so an electrical device becomes a bit of a brick. If I were to tour in Europe, I would probably use a stove that could burn multiple types of fuel. The Primus Omnifuel would probably be my first choice since it can burn pretty much any fuel from butane to diesel.

And, since Primus is a European ... Norwegian to be exact... company, many places should carry the fuel for the stove.

gerryl

Some things to consider if you plan on using an electric kettle or anything else electric for that matter.
1. Chances are you'll need an extension cord, not all outlets will be close to your tent.
2. Many Euro campsites do indeed have electricity, but some may be intended for RV users, which means the outlets will have a 30Amp plug, you'll need an adapter in order to plug in any household appliances.
​​​​​​

J.Higgins 

STOP IT! I'm drooling on my keyboard!

J.Higgins 

Earl,

Look into the Trangia complete cookset. https://www.amazon.com/TRANGIA-27-3-...ywords=trangia Cheap, simple to use, reliable, and has a long history of use. Fuel is available anywhere.

elcruxio

^ even better choice is the trangia multi fuel. A lot more expensive, but also insanely powerful especially with a berniedawg silent cap.

indyfabz

My first ever tour was a x-country group tour with 12 other people. Got ideas from others who had more touring/camping experience than I did, which was no experience. (Each day a pair of us was responsible for coming up with dinner.) Sometimes we had to get creative. Probably the worst meal we ever had was in Rexford, WA. The only grocery source on route was the store at the campground. That night we had pasta with jar sauce and canned vegetables. I remember there being corn and peas. Cannot remember what else that night's cooks were able to scrounge up, but I do remember the end product being pretty bad. Fortunately, one guy on the trip liked spicy food. He carried and bag with various spices in it that he would periodically replenish. The group the Spice Girls were big at the time so we calling him Bob Spice.

The single best idea I have gotten from BF wood-wise is foil-packed fish. I don't eat stuff like that at home and don't often shop for food at "normal" grocery stores, so it was never on my radar screen. Someone mentioned it a a year or two ago and I went "Duh!" Very light and easy to pack if you have to carry groceries a ways to camp.

Part of my cooking setup last year in Glacier National Park. I love that Sea to Summit bowl. It collapses flat when not in use. I have the companion cup that does the same thing. Rigid cups and bowls take up a relatively large amount of space compared to those products.