So what do you eat when you ride day after day across wide open plains where grocery stores may not be readily available and there aren’t any gas stations?
This was definitely an unknown during our 2023 tour but that tour taught us a lot making us feel we understand it so much better this time around.
Drew and I tried to learn as much as we could from everyone else. We saw cyclists riding from east to west and honestly, when they got half to two-thirds of the way, they were wreaked! Thin, wasted, gaunt. They looked like they were on death’s bed. Makes you want to ride across the USA, doesn’t it?!
Our basic mindset for the tour was “preserve the asset”- Us. Next, was to preserve and protect our equipment. But more on that later.
Back to preserving the asset. Both being students of fitness and nutrition, we realized how important it was to give our bodies what they needed to perform. You can get by, skip steps, cheat when you are riding one day or maybe a few days. Heck, probably even a week. But riding successive days, week after week, month after month, you have to stay focused and on point. Looking towards the end of the tour, our mileage was between 70- to 90 miles a day, DAY after DAY! And we felt strong, healthy and happy. We were unstoppable and arguably the healthiest and in the best condition we’d ever been in our lives!
How did we do it?
Generally speaking, we eat really well every day. Those who know me know my love for cooking so most of our meals are at home. How fortunate Californians are to live where there is a long growing season with fresh fruits and vegetables readily available! Eat clean. The less processed, the better. If it is not recognizable, don’t eat it (Apple tree, yes. Dorito tree…no). Avoid sugar.
Next, eat things your body likes/tolerates. While I LOVE nuts (and they are generally a good fat for you), my body hates them. I also avoid gluten when possible. Drew… acidic foods tear him apart.
Now for the ‘hacks’. In an attempt to consume enough protein to build/maintain muscle, we are also mindful of calories and fat. Yep. High cholesterol and heart disease are gifts from our ancestors. So our diet is void of most beef and we rely on chicken/turkey, fish and whey. In search of high protein, low fat/calorie foods, we’ve found that tuna, non-fat Greek yogurt & cottage cheese, low-fat string cheese and eggs work relatively well. I now use yogurt as a base for dressings and dips. Coupled with spices/seasonings, you’d never know! We’ve switched from coffee creamer and creamer to protein shakes added to our coffee…another addition of protein to our diet.
Out on the road, we have peanut butter and honey with us at all times. A previous post explained how we’ve created a ‘refrigerator’ using our frame bag so half our dinner each evening is saved for the following day. The fitness world has developed lots of energy bars and gels that we can carry as well. Diligent about protein intake, we usually have a can of tuna with us too. Individual packets mayo, mustard, sauces sources at fast food restaurants are easy to carry and spice up tuna or other items. Dried fruit, like dates, banana chips, dried apricots are easy to carry and don’t weigh much. And then there’s Fritos from the Frito tree-corn, oil, salt…gluten free without additives. They can be found almost anywhere and are there to get us through.
We learned that WalMarts are plentiful across the nation and there is usually a Dollar General on the outskirts of most towns
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While riding, we eat small, frequent amounts and ‘second coffee’ is the best! IYKYK.
Not eating out much, we didn’t realize what great salads Wendy’s has and Dunkin’ Donuts has more than donuts. Blizzards and Mango slushies at DQ are the bomb on super-hot days.
It’s good to be good but I have to say, when it’s time to ride through Iowa (RAGBRAI), you must experience fresh corn, Beekman’s ice cream and Mr. Porkchop…at least just once. It’s kind of a right of passage. Then, there are the homemade pies from the Church ladies and if you’re lucky, Dutch letters.
Common sense and a little self-discipline will serve you well. While junk food like Gummy Bears and candy bars is tempting, you’ll pay for it in the long run. Just because you are burning thousands of calories, remember ‘Preserve the asset’. If you want muscle, seek protein. If you want fat, overeat carbs.
Are we doing anything differently this time? Yes. We both enjoy freshly brewed coffee (over Folger’s crystals) and found this fairly accessible. We plan to fill our thermos on our final food stop before pulling into camp. And, we aren’t going to try to ‘cook’ meals in camp.
Lastly, unless you’re a cyclist or have one in your life, you’d be amazed how much food they can eat! Cyclist are metabolic machines…calories in, miles out. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
April 17, 2025
