# food when riding



## texastraveler (Dec 31, 2019)

what are yalls favorite staples when riding? i'm vegetarian and plan on oats, beans, pb, and tortillas greatly supplemented by dumpstering, but could use some advice on easy staples for a long tour


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## croc (Dec 31, 2019)

I often travel with hard boiled eggs (having a stove makes this cheaper so u can make em urself) and produce like tomatoes, spinach, onion, steak some mayo packets n make wraps w those. Also fruit, esp bananas, orange, apples. I know it's not the most practical to have fragile food but imo it's worth the risk of them exploding bc if ur careful they prob won't unless ur pack gets thrown. Now that I have a dog, I don't typically get off on the fly n usually am able to set my pack down, pass it to a road dog, or get off with it still on.
Idk worth it bc healthy food just makes u feel better.

In a more practical answer, granola n granola bars, pretzels to dip in pb, trail mix, raisins, oatmeal, canned beans n veggies, etc


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## Hazardoussix6six (Jan 1, 2020)

I am not veggie trained, nor do I eat alot of red meat...at all.. chix an fish yes. But hard to find via road minus the cans in citys. Pack wise I try to carry alot of noodles and seasoning packets. An fruit as mentioned especially bananas, shit is cheap and easy to 'graze' at Walmart's krogers....etc...and beans....I do love beans


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Jan 2, 2020)

Not a vegetarian/vegan. I like to bring jerky, but otherwise cashews, dank bread & peanut butter, dried fruits. If it can't take a little abuse, I'm not eating it.


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## croc (Jan 2, 2020)

Oh whoa, I'm realizing now I read "riding" and assumed trains lmao
I now see this is in the bike touring section... Hope u ain't chuckin a pack off ur bike or gettin off of it on the fly


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Jan 2, 2020)

Oh shit I missed that too.


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## texastraveler (Jan 2, 2020)

croc said:


> Oh whoa, I'm realizing now I read "riding" and assumed trains lmao
> I now see this is in the bike touring section... Hope u ain't chuckin a pack off ur bike or gettin off of it on the fly


haha i wish, i wanted to try riding freight with it but it's a bit too fragile


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## Timothy Englert (Jan 4, 2020)

GORP!!... is a good biking food [good 'ol raisins and peanuts.] 
A standard with bikers and hikers. It's cheap and can be bought anywhere. The taste never gets bland, is high density and good fiber to keep you regular. I put it in freezer bags so as you supply dimishes, you get more valuable room in your packs. I prefer salty dry roasted peanuts to avoid blandness. Some bikers eat peanut butter right out of a jar but that is too suffocating for me.


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## Makanico (Jan 5, 2020)

The last bicycle your I did was in the UK it was cut short in London when my bike was stolen. I Usually do a variety of dried fruits nuts and any good fresh greens and I have on board 3 liters of water and a lifestraw. I havent done any dumpstering while on the road yet. As I process most stuff I dumpster from my workshop (clean and then distribute to people I know need it). Dips and rice crakers are good also some firm cheese can last a few days providing it doesn't get to hot.


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## Stiv Rhodes (Jan 6, 2020)

Yeah, all that stuff, and hummus.


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## texastraveler (Jan 6, 2020)

yeah i got some de


Timothy Englert said:


> GORP!!... is a good biking food [good 'ol raisins and peanuts.]
> A standard with bikers and hikers. It's cheap and can be bought anywhere. The taste never gets bland, is high density and good fiber to keep you regular. I put it in freezer bags so as you supply dimishes, you get more valuable room in your packs. I prefer salty dry roasted peanuts to avoid blandness. Some bikers eat peanut butter right out of a jar but that is too suffocating for me.


got some dried apricot and PB, i feel like it'll last me a while. the freezer bag is a goos idea i'll try it thanks


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## Potts (Dec 5, 2020)

Hazardoussix6six said:


> I am not veggie trained, nor do I eat alot of red meat...at all.. chix an fish yes. But hard to find via road minus the cans in citys. Pack wise I try to carry alot of noodles and seasoning packets. An fruit as mentioned especially bananas, shit is cheap and easy to 'graze' at Walmart's krogers....etc...and beans....I do love beans


Grazing is a Sport all in itself...perhaps a whole new forum dedicated to the Art..? @Matt Derrick


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## HitchBiker (Dec 5, 2020)

For nights before a big ride, I do a ramen bomb which is ramen boiled and then a pack of Idahoan potatoes dumped into it. I usually do pop tarts and oatmeal in the morning. I eat some kind of protein bar, fruit or snack every 1.5 hours between meals. Clif bars seem to have the highest calories, while Luna feels the least processed to digest. Snickers bars are your cheaper friend. Nutella and peanut butter on tortillas is strangely great. I'm a big fan of just getting a shit load of hummus to slap on bread with crunchy kale. Occasionally I'll do meat wraps or sandwiches. Definitely mac and cheese is a favorite carb loader. That's my baseline. Tend to get a lot of surprise meals from dumpsters and WarmShowers hosts.


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Dec 7, 2020)

Clif bars, organic Ocho chocolate bars (caramel & peanut), Thunderbird Hemp Sunflower Pumpkin Seed bars, Sweetened sour cherries, Sweetened dried cranberries. Pitted prunes. Ramen noodle soup (chicken or beef) Maruchan Instant Lunch. Koyo wakeame seaweed organic ramen noodles. Safe Catch NON-GMO tuna fish in a pouch. Small bag of rice. Annie's Mac & Cheese (I'll add cut up hot dogs or add tuna). Mountain House freeze dried chicken fried rice or beef stew and the breakfast brand. A hot dog inside a tortilla wrap with melted cheese and jalapenos. Instant coffee (any brand), instant organic hot cocoa-for my mochas.

I'll stop at Subway or a fast food place like Toxic Bell (Taco Bell) if available.

And lots of water!


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## texastraveler (Dec 7, 2020)

Crazy Hobo Johnny said:


> Clif bars, organic Ocho chocolate bars (caramel & peanut), Thunderbird Hemp Sunflower Pumpkin Seed bars, Sweetened sour cherries, Sweetened dried cranberries. Pitted prunes. Ramen noodle soup (chicken or beef) Maruchan Instant Lunch. Koyo wakeame seaweed organic ramen noodles. Safe Catch NON-GMO tuna fish in a pouch. Small bag of rice. Annie's Mac & Cheese (I'll add cut up hot dogs or add tuna). Mountain House freeze dried chicken fried rice or beef stew and the breakfast brand. A hot dog inside a tortilla wrap with melted cheese and jalapenos. Instant coffee (any brand), instant organic hot cocoa-for my mochas.
> 
> I'll stop at Subway or a fast food place like Toxic Bell (Taco Bell) if available.
> 
> And lots of water!


taco bell, holy shit. i ran out of food pretty early on after leaving Big Sur, and i DEMOLISHED a tray of taco bell in monterey that night. good times


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## awkwardshelby (Dec 27, 2020)

I've been using this couscous for years when camping. If you've got access to hot water, it cooks super quick and makes a lot of food. You can always toss a protein or some veggies with it. I like to something grill an orange on my camp stove and toss it in.


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## Gypsybones (Jan 12, 2021)

I like to make my own trail mix from the bulk bins, the rest is whatever looks good when I stop. being an omnivore I like to hit up a lot of McD's. They are everywhere, have wifi, usually have places to plug in, and you can get a metric shit ton of calories for hella cheap.

The wonderful thing about bike touring is you can literally eat ANYTHING you want and you will still loose weight.


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## Dunedrifter (Jan 16, 2021)

I buy dehydrated fruit like sliced apples, bananas, and mangos in bulk at natural food stores. Way lighter and less bulkier than fresh fruit. It’s really important to eat some fruit and veggies everyday since your body is your bikes engine. Also, pouches of tuna instead of canned.


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## Sickbird (Dec 31, 2021)

When my budget is good...
Hard cheese
Coffee/cocoa (eh coffee always is crucial)
Bread
Honey
Olive oil
Jerky
Wine



Typical light “backpacking food”
Instant potatoes 
Instant stuffing is kind of a favorite
Instant grits


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## ali (Dec 31, 2021)

I ate most of the stuff mentioned above when i was cycling, in particular oats, tortillas, peanuts, walnuts, dried mango and dates. Bulk food stores are awesome because you can buy exactly as much food as fits in your bag and no more, but a downside is in the US they tend to cater more to middle class hippies compared to in Canada where they target working class families, so they're not as cheap as you'd hope. In the US it's usually cheaper to go to Walmart and just re-package everything back into ziplock bags after you leave the store.

Tomatoes are great if you buy them at the end of the day and eat them for dinner, but kind of risky to carry around all day because they will squish. Cucumbers, apples and mandarins are a bit hardier and great as an alternative/bonus water source, but they do take up a lot of space so i only carried them when i was out of bear country and didn't care any more about storing extra food outside my Ursack. Bananas are awesome nutrition-wise, but a bit fragile, so when i did buy them it tended to be another end of the day thing like tomatoes.

What you eat also depends a bit where you are in the world.

For instance here in Panama walnuts are stupid expensive so they're not really a good option for everyday eating. Plantain and yuca (cassava) chips are cheap and ubiquitous, though, and they aren't packed with salt like American potato chips, so you can get plenty of calories pretty quick. In Florida it was pretty easy to find plantain chips too.

In parts of the US where there are more people of Mexican ethnicity, you can often get very cheap fresh guacamole. That's a great dinner comparable to hummus if you buy and eat it at the end of the day. Another awesome snack from the Mexican diaspora is "palanquetas", a sugary nut brittle that is usually cheaper than mainstream energy/protein bars but with a comparable nutrition profile. Mexican bakeries are great too for high-calorie, dense bread, but if you're vegan you might want to be careful because a lot of them have lard or butter.

Chinese grocery stores can be good for bulk buying as well, but unfortunately most of their products are dried and designed to be rehydrated and cooked before use, so not a great option if you don't have a stove. Still, it's pretty much the only place where you might be able to find various different spiced, dried beancurds that are essentially a vegan alternative to jerky. Look for symbols like 素肉 (vegetarian meat) 辣條 (spicy strip) 豆乾 (dried bean), and watch out you don't end up buying dried fish (魚) or chicken (鷄) by mistake. It's great if you can stock up on those in a Chinatown and then use them to add some different flavors to your tortillas. They are very, very high in sodium, though.


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## BobDole (Feb 2, 2022)

There is this brand... I forget the name, but its something along the lines of "Sprouts". They sell them for a buck or two in health food stores here. Its like a pack of sunflower seeds, but sprouts instead. Sprouted? Anyway, theyre really good and addictive. For proteins, I like taking Cod (Beer Battered or raw/fresh) in a baggie. Makes for good in between lights snack!


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## Bibritt (Dec 22, 2022)

The first thing I usually instinctively grab is trail mix with nuts , raisans , chocolate. Dried meat is great , of course the best thing to bring is plenty of water !!!!!As long as you are hydrated ur good , dehydration is the worst , I had a scary incident while in fort Tryon Washington heights where I ran out ... Luckily met a cool guy who gave me his canteen .. as long as you have water food can always be purchased or scavenged along the way ..


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## Nomadicinquiries (Dec 23, 2022)

Timothy Englert said:


> GORP!!... is a good biking food [good 'ol raisins and peanuts.]
> A standard with bikers and hikers. It's cheap and can be bought anywhere. The taste never gets bland, is high density and good fiber to keep you regular. I put it in freezer bags so as you supply dimishes, you get more valuable room in your packs. I prefer salty dry roasted peanuts to avoid blandness. Some bikers eat peanut butter right out of a jar but that is too suffocating for me.



That reminds of tamari roasted almonds, little pricey but super tasty.


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