Food

Eating the right food and enough of it can be a real challenge on a long bicycle tour. I spend between five and ten hours in the saddle every day, which requires a lot of energy. A google search for calories burned during moderate bicycing (is riding a 70-80 pound bicycle on these roads up these hills considered moderate?) is around 500 calories an hour. So, that's between 2500 and 5000 calories per day in addition to the roughly 1500 base metabolic calories I need per day.

Eating 4000-6000 calories a day is actually pretty tough and I usually don't so I've been steadily losing weight. I have to be careful, though, because if I don't eat enough, I 'bonk', which means I have no energy and really struggle riding even a few miles. I'll also get cold really easily and start shaking.

I notice the cold bit usually at the end of a long day. During the last 15-20 miles, I get impatient to get done with the day so I rarely stop to eat. I just push through even if I'm really hungry thinking that I'll have dinner soon. Then, when I finally sit down to eat, I'll start shivering even if it's not too cold until I start digesting my food and start filling my energy deficit. About an hour after I eat, I warm right up.

So, what do I eat? I work on the Hobbit diet: breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, onesies, etc. I can't eat too much at one sitting and then immediately hop on the bike since pedalling on a full belly is really uncomfortable. If I do eat a big meal, I leave time to sit and digest for a bit.

If I'm preparing my own food, I have cereal or packets of instant oatmeal and tea or hot chocolate for breakfast, sandwiches (peanut butter or cold cuts and cheese) for lunch and a Knorr pasta meal and hot chocolate for dinner. Snacks include fruit bars, fruit, fruit juice, milk, or yogurt from convenience stores, crackers, and the occasional soda, candy bar or ice cream bar.

Here is my picnic lunch from yesterday. Unfortunately, Yukon rest areas don't have picnic tables so I have to eat sitting on the ground.





Here is my usual pasta meal dinner.





The foil thing around the pot is insulation so my food doesn't get cold in the pot as I'm eating it. It's not easy getting all that pasta down so it's important to keep it hot otherwise it becomes absolutely disgusting.





Unlike at home where I focus on trying to restrict how many calories I eat, here, I'm always trying to increase them. I put butter on my sandwiches, in my pasta, and in my oatmeal. I also grate extra cheese into my pasta meals. I drink 2% or whole milk, and scoff at fat free foods.

Sometimes, during my meals, I have uninvited company so I have to keep a close eye ony food to ensure that it isn't pilfered. This little guy was quite brazen.





Now that I'm out in the boonies, I stop to eat in restaurants for dinner and especially breakfast if I can, which isn't all that often because there isn't much out here. It's a nice break from the oatmeal/ pasta meal diet when I can get it. I focus on high protein and higher fat foods as opposed to low fat high carbohydrate foods so I eat lots of eggs and bacon or ham and rarely eat pancakes or french toast. I've found that high protein and fat foods allow me to eat less and give me a longer, more steady source of energy than high carb, low fat foods. My sugar cravings that I battle during the school year are completely gone so I don't eat many processed sweets like candy bars or ice cream.

I do try homemade deserts like the famous rhubarb pie at Dawson's Peak Resort.






So, that's how I fuel the engine. It's nice being able to eat whatever I want in large quantities but I am mindful that it's purpose is to fuel my legs so I can get through the day.

I was amused at the gas bill for filling up a large RV at a gas station I stopped at yesterday: $157. My fill up of food that day was about $5. And, it's a lot more enjoyable filling my belly as opposed to a gas tank!
-- Post From My iPhone