Pretty much as long as you just ride and don't entertain yourself with non touring related activities , costs will reflect your usual daily living expenses.. eating out increases the costs significantly.. But, then stopping at sandwich shops, or grocery stores decreases those costs significantly.. As long as your camping isn't primitive , your nightly camping costs should be under 25 dollars tops, should you seek out state parks or city parks..
remember once being on tour, we ran into some bike tourer who was living on a shoe string but had traveled from New York to California.. His problem. He had to take the bus back to New York. He could not afford to feed himself, he was that broke.

Keeping notes of the trips is something I've done pretty much from the start. Part of this is because I want a record for myself, but at the end of each tour, I will also analyze what I could do to improve things for the next time. If there were things I packed but didn't need, I'll know I can leave them at home next time. Likewise, if I needed something I didn't have, I'll make a note of it. If my speed and distance were both down considerably, I'll look at why that happened.

We all start somewhere when we're touring, but on a long tour, it's good to have some preparation.

undesputed83,

budget 15 bucks a day for food and drink, provided you don't eat at restaurants except fast food. Give yourself $100 for repair cost (flat tires, broken spokes etc). Then there is the cost of transporting you and your bike back home, which will be at least $200 and perhaps a lot more. Edit: add expenses for stuff like batteries etc... I used about 4 batteries a day for my GPS unit.

I did my tour on about 10-12 bucks a day in 2005 including everything. Donated my bike at the end of the tour to Salvation army because I used a Walmart bike for my 2,000 mile tour, and not worth sending back. I paid around $100 for my bus trip back home. I didn't stay in a hotel one time during my tour. overall cost to me, around $400 for 30 days (including the bus ticket)

https://biketour.ne1.net

Now I understand what you are saying and I agree that a journal and a pack list are good things to have.

I started the Northern Tier spending very little by cooking food from grocery stores on my alcohol stove. However, I wasn't eating enough and I was loosing weight (oddly, I didn't feel hungry). I started eating out for one meal per day, then two and, eventually, I ate out almost all of the time. Not surprisingly, food quickly became my biggest expense, and I bet I was spending about $30 per day. Note: I still lost weight, even though I ate, I bet, close to 6,000 calories per day. (I averaged 83 miles per day for the 56 days I took.)

Of course one could cook that much food along the way, but that is a talent and interest I don't have.

Camping was much cheaper: I was quite pleasantly surprised by how many towns allowed free camping in city parks. But, I still bet I averaged close to $10 per day. BTW, I used Warm Showers three times and I got a hotel room once.

I had very few mechanical problems, so not many expenses here: two flats that I patched, but I did replace my tires, preventatively, at ~3,000 miles. I also replaced my pedals because one was making a clicking sound, but Shimano ultimately covered those under warranty.

I didn't have too many other expenses, and I'd bet my on-tour cost averaged something between $40 - 50 per day, and I felt quite comfortable.

As others have pointed out, traveling with someone drops your costs considerably in terms of sharing campgrounds and, IMHO, most dramatically, by making it easier to cook more of your meals.

It is very nice to have a credit card handy, just in case....

What? That's just ridiculous on top of being insulting.
Food isn't that expensive- if you can bear to go a day without steak and lobster, which apparently you can't.
Buy food, make a simple stove and cook it on the road? It's not that hard!
Why should eating on the road be any more expensive than eating at home?
It's just bigger portions with the same ingredients...
If you spend more than twenty dollars a week in food for a single person at home,
I guess you just love spending money...

I admire your frugality but, at the same time, I think the culinary consequences of spending less than $3 per day are extremely unappealing. Further, I think it is ridiculous, on top of being insulting, to suggest that spending any more suggests that one "just loves spending money."

Could you post a list of what you ate for a week on twenty bucks?

I agree, if I am at home, the most i would EVER spend on food for a week is $20. Its pretty easy to cook foods and eat simply. I'm perfectly happy with this, and I actually enjoy lots of the foods I make. On a tour my food expense is slightly higher because I eat out once a day, but other than that, I eat the same things on the road as I do at home.

One unmentioned cost is the expense to maintain your "at home" life, i.e. mortgage/rent/storage unit, loan payments (if any), phone, car/life/medical insurance, etc. Obviously, these may not apply to you but you would probably have to have money upon your return to get some of them restarted, i.e. rent and rent deposit. I would agree with having access to cash would be very beneficial.

While your 5,000+ mile trip in 60 days is doable, it is not nearly as enjoyable if you can slow down if you choose to. In my younger days, I did the original NT in 50 days (about 84 mpd) and my journal has several mentions how I wished I didn't have to push it (due to weather in the NE). This was after coming up the Pacific Coast so I was in shape so it wasn't a fitness but more of a time in the saddle issue.

No matter what you choose, I wish you a safe and enjoyable trip!

good luck with your trip planning, but please, please do a small shakeout tour (or three) first.

Thank you, Skyzo. I've been beginning to feel as if I'm surrounded by people who think a $5k bike and spandex suit are necessary parts of cycling...

I'd be interested in that too.

I tour to enjoy myself. Eating on $2.86 a day wouldn't be very enjoyable to me. I often spend that on a cold drink and a snack. A few pieces of fresh fruit might cost that. A bag salad might cost that. A single serving bottle of wine...

Then there is the added impediment to frugality of needing to buy from mom and pop general stores and/or mini marts unless you want to carry food for a week at a time (I don't).

Hmm. Here you are more likely to be surrounded by people who think Long Haul Truckers and ratty old gym shorts are required.

1. Unless you typically ride a bike all day around where you live, you'll probably be getting a lot more exercise on tour than you normally would. Therefore, you'll probably want to eat more food.

2. Unless you're toting a refridgerator, you'll probably be buying food in smaller portions, and smaller portions are more expensive.

Obviously there's a range of spending, both at home and on tour. Let's try to respect each other, whether we agree or not.

Harutz, you are new to this forum, we try to be a little nicer here than other places, even other places on bikeforums. I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but you're coming across as pretty judgmental and intorlerent. Maybe chill a little?

I really also do want to see specifically how to eat on $20 a week on tour. I wouldn't mind reducing my costs. I'd be happy to learn from you rather than be scolded.

for all the people who are asking how its possible to live on $20 in food...
I usually only spend about $15-20 a week in food when at home (being a bachelor, i spend about that much in beer too ), but some examples of given foods I eat in a week:

bananas
cereal
granola
sandwhiches (tuna, pbj)
canned soups
salads
frozen .99c pizzas
rice
noodles
tortillas
oatmeal
homemade refried beans for burritos
homemade hamburgers

Eating simply like that, you should have no problem keeping the food bill for one person at only $20. It made not be the most healthy way of eating, but its decent. I generally shoot for about 3000-3500 calories a day. A great way to eat cheaply is to buy in bulk. Im lucky enough to have a winco nearby so I just scoop the bulk stuff out of bins and it goes by weight.

Like I said though, if I'm touring I like to eat out once a day, so just add the cost of fast food or occasional local restraunt, and other than that I eat the same foods as I do at home.

edit: I go to the grocery store every sunday, and I just drug out a few receipts to see what I actually have been spending per week, and the last 3 weeks go $17, $22, and $19. I average right about $20 a week

I spent $19 for lunch here. It wasn't that good.

Yeah, I said that.
That's exactly the problem.

Valygrl, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and just say it sounds like you didn't read the post I was responding to.

Ah yes, I see BigAura started it.

Redirect my earlier comment to BigAura as well.

Peace.

I don't see how you can not count the beer so you are at $40 a week even if you don't eat anything that you didn't buy on Sunday.

Then if you don't eat anything else that you either bought somewhere along the way or that was provided by someone else at work, when visiting friends/family, or where ever you are the rare exception.

3. When you're out in the middle of nowhere, and the only source of food is the tiny grocery store in the next town ... or if you are travelling through a tourist area ... chances are you'll be paying significantly more for that loaf of bread there than you would at home. If you currently live in a city, you might be paying about $2 for a loaf of bread ... in a smaller town you might be looking at $3 ... a really small town or a tourist town, and you might be handing over $4 for that loaf of bread.

But this is something a person would discover if that person did a short tour out into the country.

If you think you're better off saving the weight by shopping one meal at a time...
Me, I'd rather carry a whole week's food. It doesn't really weigh that much, and it saves a ton of money.
A pound of dry carbs, some canned veggies, and a way to purify water goes a long way.
I even like to get a can of milk to make a box of pudding for a nice treat once in a while.

Oatmeal for breakfast, rice or noodles for dinner, maybe a sandwich or ramen for a big snack.
I bring a little bag of flour to make camp biscuits and a little fishing kit if I feel like stopping at a lake or stream to relax.

(I'm not saying a pound is good for a week, it's just to think about how far it goes. I've never been one to weigh my food.)

It is nearly impossible to spend only $20 a week on FOOD. Over processed junk, sure, wholesome foods, no way.

Please tell me how I can spend $20 a week (at home or touring) including lots of fresh fruits and veggies, which I prefer. Canned veggies? Ewww.... Yeah I've used them in a pinch but I'll try to avoid at all costs.

At home I can spend $20 a week on carrots alone, love fresh juice.

Skyzo, that reminds me of college days cuisine.

BTW on a tour I can easily spend $3-5 a day on beer alone. Post ride beer is always a treat!