Ahh, food. Probably the most integral component of the entire trip.
It was at the end of my first trip that I came to that realization. I was cycling some 250k each day for over a week, in a mad rush to finish the trip before I ran out of money. It was somewhere in there I added up the number of calories I was eating every day – over 7000.
On my last trip in Ireland, I spent an evening camping with a German cyclist I’d met that day. I was snacking on my food choice for the day (a tube of cookies). He saw what I was eating, and stopped me. “You shouldn’t be eating those; they’re only 1200 calories. You should be eating THESE! THESE [which looked exactly like what I was eating from a different manufacturer] are 1800 calories!”.
It’s a good idea to be carrying a some food when you land. First, because it reminds you to leave room for food when you pack! Second, because it usually takes me a few days to get my act together, and this buys me time where food at least is one thing to not have to worry about.
Starting food list:
- 2 packages of 6 bagels – they pack well, and don’t squash.
- 2 small plastic jars of peanut butter – high calorie, and the jar is useful anyway!
- 8 power/nut/granola bars – just to snack on along the way.
- 500g pasta
- 2 packages of Starkist tuna in a pouch
- Powdered soup mix (to flavor the pasta).