Author Topic: Bicycle Tour  (Read 7545 times)

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Offline CyclingSingle

Bicycle Tour
« on: March 16, 2010, 09:39:14 pm »
I have been on adventurecycling  for a while but i thought i would post something. I have been crazy about cycling since i was five also living in europe but now i am living in the u.s. Which is pretty crazy living here where not all people believe in cycling. But it's still enjoyable to ride.

The reason i am writing on here is also to ask other cyclists who go on tour across the U.S. Where is the best places to eat food while your riding a bike for several months ? And Where to find the best places ? I am going from Ky to Utah and this will be my first one. Any advice will be  helpful so i won't go hungry while i am out there. I am also going with my father and we are in very good shape.

thanks for any advice from anyone.


Your fellow cyclists Jake Charles
Ride to Live, Live to Ride

Offline johnsondasw

Re: Bicycle Tour
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2010, 10:48:54 pm »
I buy groceries and make my own meals for most of the time.  Sometimes we stop at fast food restaurants (although I'm selective about which ones I'll go to).  Occassionally, I'll go to regular restaurants.  It all depends on what I want, cost, weather, etc.   I just decide what and where to eat depending on various factors.
May the wind be at your back!

Offline tonythomson

Re: Bicycle Tour
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2010, 08:25:00 am »
According to a survey and the "Eat this not that" (good book to read about eating out) Chick-a-lic serves the healthiest fast food.  ???

I think for me the best I've found is Subway - their veggie ones.

But cooking your own is def best.
Just starting to record my trips  www.tonystravels.com

indyfabz

  • Guest
Re: Bicycle Tour
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2010, 09:49:36 am »
For breakfast, split between eating at the local diner/cafe (even some of the smallest towns you will stay in have one) and buying something cold like a bagel.  It usually depends on how hard the day's riding will be.  Lunch is suaully a sandwich or other snack (I am a sucker for friend chicken when touring) from a deli or supermarket.  I almost always cook my own dinner.  That's the meal I use to fuel for the next day.  My "mobile kitchen" includes two pots, a liquid fuel stove, mini Santoku knife, cutting board, spices and olive oil.  I also carry coffee and a small, plastic French press mug from REI.  Very handy if you are a coffee drinker.

Since I tend to stay in towns when possible I usually don't have that mich trouble finding sufficient groceries to make dinner.  But there have been times when pickings were so slim that dinner consisted of pasta with canned of chili.  You may also find yourself having to carry groceries to the campground.

If you will be following Adventure Cycling's maps for some or all of your trip, they list the locations of grocery stores and restaraunts.  Some stores may carry "limitted" groceries.  Don't expect a wide selection at such places.  You should also not hesitate to ask locals.  There may be a town a few miles off route that has better food choices than those you will find along your planned route, making the few extra miles worth it.  On line searching can also be useful.  In preparation for my Montana-Canada tour last summer I searched the web site for areas and town we would be passing through to find information about food options.

Offline rvklassen

Re: Bicycle Tour
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2010, 12:54:29 pm »
I expect that part of the adventure will be figuring that out.

On our tours thus far, we've done pretty well by finding food in small-town grocery stores.  Normally not quite as good on presentation as the big chains, and somewhat more expensive.  Sometimes you get surprised and what you thought would provide what you want has NO produce or almost anything else perishable. 

An interesting thing about travelling by bike or otherwise is that grocery store chains are rarely nation-wide. So as you come to a mid-sized town where you know there will be a supermarket, you don't always know what that supermarket will be called.

On our most recent tour we discovered that rotisserie chicken was all the rage in the NY finger lakes area.  And that we could stick one of these in a pannier and it would still be good when we reached the campsite. 

In some of the less populated areas people think nothing of driving 50 or 100 miles to get groceries...   

Offline rvklassen

Re: Bicycle Tour
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2010, 01:03:49 pm »
I would add that food appears to take an inordinate amount of time.

1) you can't just eat fast food (depending on where you go, you might not even find it!)
2) if you eat in non-fast-food restaurants, you've just sunk an hour or maybe an hour and a half.  Per meal.
3) if you cook your own you'll be surprised at how much time you spend in grocery stores.
    a) it's an unfamiliar layout
    b) you may think you know what you want, but you don't know what they have to offer.
    c) and you're doing it tomorrow (or the next day) again.

If you have very cheap and simple tastes (which I doubt or you wouldn't have posed the question), you can find the peanut butter, jelly and packaged bread in just about every store, and that'll meet your caloric needs, although not provide a whole lot of balance.  It is certainly the fastest approach.   Maybe healthier than fast-food.  Depends.

I read a CGOAB journal in which the (tandem) couple appeared to be subsisting on bagels and spreads (peanut butter, jelly).  They survived KS to NC, but they were ready for some different food after that.