But out here, where we often measure distance in hours, restaurants can be rare. Or closed. Many times, I've walked or rode a distance thinking about the ice cream that awaits, only to find a closed sign on the door. Sigh...An anecdote: A friend of mine who shares his interests between road and gravel cycling got to his mind he'd like a steel gravel bike. Last Autumn, people here were fighting to get a Marin FourCorners, a steel gravel bike, and my friend managed to buy one. Only to discover the Marin "while an excellent gravel bike, it didn't want to become a road bike whatever I tried to do to her" as he put it outEventually, he sold his Marin to get a Specialized Diverge (a traditional sibling of the Creo), and the latter could play both roles (with different wheel sets).
Sorry for not participating here on-topic. I love reading your stories but myself believe the best food is what you get at a restaurant (while on tour)
View attachment 112822
A Polish lunch. See the salads.
View attachment 112823
A Czech lunch. The Czech seem not to serve any salads to their meals! Stewed (or marinated) vegetables are being served instead.
Cooking on Tour
- Thread starter Mr. Coffee
- Start date
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
OK, guys, got it!
Which reminds me of my stay in Beaumont TX where I could painfully understand how different the United States was from Europe...
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
I probably ought to mention cookware. Whatever stove you have, you'll want a pot and a pan with lids to fit.
If you have a galley, you can just take normal sized cookware with handles, but much space and weight can be saved by using a few specialty pieces: the folding kettle and "camping crock pot" I mentioned above are always in my van.
I also have a heavy stainless, double handled, Cuisinart pan that is deep enough to boil or steam in as well as stir fry, and this is my go to skillet ( most often my only pan). It's too big and heavy for bike tourning, but fine in a galley. It saves alot of space compared to the normal size pot and pan that came with the stove.
Much lighter and smaller gear with folding handles is available for camping.
If you have a galley, you can just take normal sized cookware with handles, but much space and weight can be saved by using a few specialty pieces: the folding kettle and "camping crock pot" I mentioned above are always in my van.
I also have a heavy stainless, double handled, Cuisinart pan that is deep enough to boil or steam in as well as stir fry, and this is my go to skillet ( most often my only pan). It's too big and heavy for bike tourning, but fine in a galley. It saves alot of space compared to the normal size pot and pan that came with the stove.
Much lighter and smaller gear with folding handles is available for camping.
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Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
One piece of galley gear I just got that I might take on a bike only trip is a small 4 cup stainless pot with a strainer lid. For boling water and steaming small amounts of vegetables. It's called a grease or oil pot, and is in the kitchen gadgets aisle under $10.
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Texas is different from the rest of the United States, as well. It took me as long to cross Texas as it did to arrive in Texas from Pennsylvania. All full of empty out there.OK, guys, got it!
Which reminds me of my stay in Beaumont TX where I could painfully understand how different the United States was from Europe...
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
My old manager and I were so naïve (although the old man had been to the U.S. many times before). We got a lift from Houston to Beaumont. Our driver brought us to a hotel nearby the company we were about to meet on the next morning (Holiday Inn Express I think). To our biggest surprise, there was no hotel restaurant there! We tried to make a stroll outside: no way! No sidewalks whatsoever! It also turned out there was a mistake with our hotel booking, so we had to change to another (brand new) one. Our driver gave us another lift to Pappadeaux and later to the other hotel on that evening.
On the next morning, my boss naively asked the receptionist whether she could order a cab for us. WHAT?! A cab? She sighed and gave us a lift to the company...
On the next Texas stay, we started with renting a car. I was the driver. It was a very good lesson to me...
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Driving in Texas is as different as driving in Franch was for me from Pennsylvania. I couldn't read the signs in France, but Texas doesn't have any signs.
I didn't even know eighty mile an hour roads existed, and here I was driving in them in Texas, with maybe a fifty MPH access road dumping cars into the stream.
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
You mean, in France?
The freeway speed limit in Poland is 140 km/h (87 mph).
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
No I mean here in Pennsyl - tucky. 55 mph and they enforce it.
Prairie Dog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Red Deer
A few ultra compact cookware items that we used to take with us on kayak camping trips but I guess could quite possibly be applied to bike camping.
MSR Trail Lite Anodized 2.5L & 1.5L Nesting Pots. Protective egg holders are also great to bring along and aren't that expensive. A couple of small soup bowls fit perfectly into the smaller pot.
Even more compact for overnight trips. Evernew Titanium 1.5L & .9L Nesting Pots
Our cooking utensil kit. The only knife in the kit is a 5” Kyocera ceramic with its own protective sheath. It never needs sharpening and doesn’t rust. Everything fits into a soft compact OR padded case.
We also brought along handy mesh nets to hold and transport items/gear from the boats to the campsite.
An Outback Oven is nice to bring along to make homemade brownies over a portable gas stove.
Ortlieb makes great gear too. This ultra compact basin folds up neatly but holds 5L of water for washing up or carrying water.
Another vessel for holding fresh water is this MSR dromedary bag. It simply rolls up but holds 10L of fresh water.
Our indispensable 8” Teflon skillet with folding handle. We also have a larger 10” version.
MSR Trail Lite Anodized 2.5L & 1.5L Nesting Pots. Protective egg holders are also great to bring along and aren't that expensive. A couple of small soup bowls fit perfectly into the smaller pot.
Even more compact for overnight trips. Evernew Titanium 1.5L & .9L Nesting Pots
Our cooking utensil kit. The only knife in the kit is a 5” Kyocera ceramic with its own protective sheath. It never needs sharpening and doesn’t rust. Everything fits into a soft compact OR padded case.
We also brought along handy mesh nets to hold and transport items/gear from the boats to the campsite.
An Outback Oven is nice to bring along to make homemade brownies over a portable gas stove.
Ortlieb makes great gear too. This ultra compact basin folds up neatly but holds 5L of water for washing up or carrying water.
Another vessel for holding fresh water is this MSR dromedary bag. It simply rolls up but holds 10L of fresh water.
Our indispensable 8” Teflon skillet with folding handle. We also have a larger 10” version.
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
What duration were the kayak trips ?
Prairie Dog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Red Deer
Our trips averaged 5-7 days and pretty much were all based out on Vancouver Island. Packing for a trip involves a bit of creativity when taking advantage of every square inch of a boat’s bulk heads in an efficient manner as possible. My primary vessel was, for a number of years, a Pygmy stitch and glue kit, fully-glassed 17’ seakayak built from mahogany plywood panels. It was a super hauler for longer trips and a wonderful craft to paddle out on open seas.
This is a pic just after I completely stripped, refinished and eventually sold it to a local buyer.
One of our favorite spots to camp at was Clark Island on the outer waters of the Broken Group Islands, Vancouver Isle, BC.
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Looks great. And after 5 to 7 days out, it is a reasonable time to go to town, do laundry, restock the food, etc.
Prairie Dog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Red Deer
Most definitely. We did that a number of times during the years when we owned a home in Victoria. Barkley Sound and the Gulf Islands were usually the destinations that we frequented the most. Unfortunately, work and family related issues in recent years made it too difficult (time wise) to pull off those types of trips. We still keep a couple of boats at a friend's home out on Pender Island and intend on doing another multi-day trip soon.
These are my fancy herb/spice containers i use on a tour:
www.aliexpress.com
Won't strain the wallet.
Ultra Light Weight.
Easy to see level of contents.
Semi waterproof.
Sometimes hard to open without spilling contents everywhere.
Relatively easy to become lost.
Excellent control of usage if your hands are not shaking.
Easy to label with a marker and not having to worry about erasing for next time.
No washing required between trips.
1.04US $ 27% OFF|Zip Lock Plastic Bags Transparent Packaging Poly Ziplock Bag Pouch 100 Pcs - Storage Bags - AliExpress
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
Won't strain the wallet.
Ultra Light Weight.
Easy to see level of contents.
Semi waterproof.
Sometimes hard to open without spilling contents everywhere.
Relatively easy to become lost.
Excellent control of usage if your hands are not shaking.
Easy to label with a marker and not having to worry about erasing for next time.
No washing required between trips.
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Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Exactly the same things my first aid kit, bike tools, and packed lunch on the bike all travel in. As great an invention as velcro.These are my fancy herb/spice containers i use on a tour:
1.04US $ 27% OFF|Zip Lock Plastic Bags Transparent Packaging Poly Ziplock Bag Pouch 100 Pcs - Storage Bags - AliExpress
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Another tiny galley layout .
Cool mostly because its in
this. Which, with a bigger door, could be a bike garage.
She has a write up on the galley
Cool mostly because its in
this. Which, with a bigger door, could be a bike garage.
She has a write up on the galley
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Art Deco
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
Canned meat and seafood are very limited in the USA, outside of major city supermarkets. Tuna, chicken, spam, Vienna sausage, and maybe corned beef or ham are what's common. I've seen canned shrimp and maybe scallops, but they are usually frozen.
But rice and noodles based stir fry meals are very common here.
