5 USEFUL EATING TIPS FOR BIKEPACKING

Planning, packing and snacking for two wheeled adventures

Words & images by Outdoor Provisions

What you'll need for 'living on the bike' depends entirely on the kind of trip you're planning, so some research before hand is a savvy option.

Are you going somewhere with limited resupply or passing lots of shops? Will it be cold enough that you need hot food, or can you leave the stove behind? Are you riding solo and carrying everything, or can you share the load between a few of you? Are you camping out, or finding accommodation?

All of these would effect our planning and pack list but here’s a few pointers we’ve learnt over lots of trips...

1: Easy (Sn)access

Keep your snacks where you can get them or you won’t eat them. That leads to under fuelling, where food intake is insufficient to cover your energy demands and generally not having a nice time.

A designated snack bag is useful to keep an inventory of what food you have, especially if you're making it last when there's limited resupply.

2: Avoid flavour fatigue

Flavour fatigue is when get sick of the same thing (particularly sweet stuff) and aren't inclined to keep eating, which again means you under fuel.

If you're looking forward to eating, you'll eat! So try mixing it up with savoury stuff - that could be a pre-made butty, chips and a swift half or our nut butter sachets, for example. In our opinion, the best bit of bikepacking is the spontaneous food stops, foraging and local delicacies you pick up on the way, so embrace them.

3: Leave room for extras

This tip can’t be underrated. Packing an extra bag, like a musette, that you can whip out and fill up with extras when you have the chance to resupply is a top tip.

If you leave the house with your frame bags meticulously packed to full capacity, where do you stash your baguette, cheese and vine tomatoes from the last shop on route before sauntering another 10k or to find a wild camping spot?

"Amazing quality food, so much better than other cycle snacks I’ve tried. The Nut butter was a game changer, now top of my list for cycling provisions!"

M Challis - Trustpilot

4: Nut butter

Obviously we would say this but bike packing takes a lot of energy and if you’re doing it for a few days you’ll soon be in calories deficit, which is hard to get out of.

Our high in good fats nut butter sachets become your friend here, helping to plug the energy gap. Where carbs will give you 4cals/gram, fat gives you 9cal/gram. Being a source of protein too, they will also stimulate blood flow around your stomach and help alleviate stomach issues from all those carbs.

Nut butter can be used to add an extra 200kcals (and a load of flavour!) to your porridge, eaten with fruit or neat mid ride or post ride to aid recovery.

5: Water and emergency food

Bikepacking can get remote and plans can go awry. It's always wise to keep something high packable and calorie dense (away from the rest of your snacks) just for emergencies. The one time you need it, you'll be very glad of it. You can always eat it on the last day if everything has gone to plan!

Water is essential but is also the hardest thing to carry lots of. Decide if you need a water filter and get used to using whatever system you plan to take. Never pass up a water refill opportunity if you're low, always top up!