The Pedalshift Project 251: Meal and Snack Planning Strategies

I used to do it all wrong, now I do it better. On this episode, comparing how I used to handle snack and meal planning on bike tour, and how I do it better now.

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Snack and Meal Planning

Oregon Coast ride

About a week

Many towns, never a day without resupply options

But many long stretches with nothing

The old way

Buy a lot of snacks in advance

Have several meals on me

Have little to no space and very full bags at the beginning of the tour

Despite having “meals” on me, carrying at least one or two of them the ENTIRE length of the trip because I eat in the towns or grab better/fresher grocery items in the towns

Make fun of myself for the smashed boxes of mac and cheese I discover in my panniers when I unpack later

The modified way

No pre-purchasing

Buying what looks good in the first town rather than buying something I think I’ll want in advance

Being realistic about cooking – I’ll do it, just not as often as I want/think

Knowing where resupply options are before campsites is big – can carry a lot less over the miles, and carry the meals for a shorter duration

Frozen peas trick

What do I tend to like?

Coffee – probably going to do pour-over (less stuff to bring)

Pop-tarts – great calorie to weight ratio, excellent for breakfast or snacks

Nuts – a savory option

Cheese – stays ok without chilling for a few days

50/50 water and sports drink – grape is the only flavor

Sugary caffeinated drinks for hills and second half of days – don’t underestimate the need for simple carbs when cycling, if that helps you

Big sandwiches – Subway footlong keeps pretty well

Occasionally, chips/crisps to mix things up and Snickers

Beer?

I don’t like drinking until the end of my riding day – YMMV

I’ll often get beer at the last town’s store and keep it cold with some frozen food item

Vegetables?

I love me a bagged salad mix for dinner.

Easy to prepare, can eat out of the bag

Vegetables are very helpful to eat on the road to mix in with all the junk calories we often eat!

Eating out

I’ll frequently grab lunch “out”

I’ll usually do dinner with freshly purchased food from grocery stores, with some exceptions

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like this summer’s upcoming bike tour! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
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Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields has a new album available NOW, AND Jason has a new solo album coming this year, AND his first solo album is now streaming on Spotify, including America, the Pedalshift theme. Go listen!