Calories Count: the Diet of a Cyclotourist

The view from Sonoita, AZ

One of the questions I get asked most often is: What do you eat?

It is a question with merit.  Rocks and grasses? Nuts and berries?  Big Macs and Whoppers?  The answer is more complicated than you would think.  Don't forget that my partner in crime here is a vegetarian, sometimes vegan.

Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone, AZ

Like the trip, every day is different when it comes to meals on two wheels.  A simple answer is something like cereal for breakfast, peanut butter for lunch, and beans for dinner.  The long answer is much more interesting.

Occupy: Bisbee

Let's take a random day: October 8, 2011.  Unfortunately, context has a lot to do with our question here, so before I start, I have to back up a bit.  2 days before October 8, we were in Morro Bay, CA, near San Luis Obispo.  The Gateway to the Southern Coast as they called it.  Our sights were set on Yosemite, but we had a lot of trekking to do to get their.  Crossing the San Joquain Valley in 2 days, we covered 190 miles, two of my longest days so far.  Naturally, I had a good nights sleep and woke up on October 8 in Millerton Lake with a grumbling belly.

Usually, cereal is our go to breakfast.  Ross prefers all sorts of fruits and nuts and healthy things in his raisin bran.  I, however, have more of an adolescent appetite and instead go for the Honey Nut Scooters, Cocoa Mo's or Marshmellow Mateys.  If you have not had the pleasure of experimenting with off brand, bagged cereals, do yourself a favor and go buy a bag of Malt-O-Meal Marshmellow Mateys and tell me they don't make your day. Try it. I dare you.

Milk? Easy.  The dried variety packs and stores very well.  Add water and you've got some breakfast.  Again, Ross has his own bag of powdered soy milk, imported from the very smug region of Burlington, VT, at great cost.  Its so scarce and valuable that he uses only a few grains at a time.  He basically has raisin bran in water.  I, on the other hand, sick of the plain old non-fat varieties typically available on American shelves, have opted for the more exotic, robust and delicious Klim: a dried whole milk product strangely available with only a Spanish label.  Its found, of course, only in Hispanic groceries (and at least 1 Asian grocery outside of San Francisco).

Suppertime

On this particular day, we ate at our campsite, but sometimes we bike a little first, usually when we don't want to be found by certain authorities at our place of sleepage.  Despite the two bowls and a bottle of water, second breakfast couldn't come soon enough so we stopped at a gas station.  I got a banana and a cup of coffee.  Deciding that wasn't quite enough, I went back for some french fries.

Very rare to see a sign like this

By then it was about 10am and we had gone 15 miles or so.  For our planned 50 miles that day, we had made some good progress, but we needed more.  The next bit of the ride was some climbing and a good descent into the city of Oakhurst, the threshold to Yosemite.  There was a Jack in the Box in town.  I had a side mission on this trip to try some of the burger joints exclusive to the west, so I ordered some double bacon cheeseburger and curly fries, crossing Jack off my list.

We has hail!

I found Ross eating some kind of bird food outside of Safeway (he is a club member, you know).  Having devoured the first course, we went back for desert and each got a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  Yum. It was just 12pm.

This day was exceptional when it comes to lunch.  We usually do peanut butter and nutella and honey and corn nuts and fritos in a tortilla wrap, but we decided to treat ourselves.

Later in the day, after a big climb, we made it to the gates of Yosemite, only to be turned away because of lack of camping spots.  We found refuge at Summerdale campground, just a mile outside the park and served up some dinner.  Dinner is usually our big finish of the day where we really try pack in the protein.

They love their chiles in New Mexico

Protein, however, is rather hard to portage in hot, waterproof, bicycle luggage without spoiling.  Believe me, I've tried.  It wasn't pretty.  We have settled into a pretty good routine, though.  It almost invariably includes a can of beans: refried red, refried black, chili beans, ranch beans, cuban style, cajun style, 3 bean salad, red and black combos, etc.  I've become quite the canned bean expert.  Occasionally, we'll do a container of hummus to shake things up (garlic, roasted red pepper, herbed? God forbid we get plain.)

Now to dress it up.  Avocados, tomatoes, red onion, white onion, kale have all been featured guests on our plates.  Add the hot sauce packets that you might find at a gas station or a Taco Bell and you have a taste sensation.

The most important ingredient, however, is the bread.  We have really fallen in love jalapeno cheddar rolls from the super market, but also use tortilla and various excuses for bagels that they try to pawn on the unsuspecting public in the west.

This day in particular was also special as it was my 2 months on the road celebration.  We added to dinner a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada.

King Cotton

Three meals are not nearly enough for the strapping young men we are.  We constantly supplement with storied power foods, proven throughout the ages by schlubs and athletes alike (take note, ye who have no idea what to send me in Alpine): pickles, fritos, corn nuts, potato chips, paydays, snickers, power bars, clif bars, peanuts, and various fruit type things.

We woke up the next morning ready to start again before we braved the hill into Yosemite.  There is always room for more.

***

I write now from Las Cruces, NM, the Crossroads.  We spent a wonderful day and a half in the foothills community of Hillsboro.  Jim, the museum caretaker, showed us around and made us feel quite at home.  I really geeked out over his greenhouse succulent garden.

The people have been great, even the the scenery was sometimes shaky: we camped outside Lordsburg, which was no gem, and next to an abandoned mine outside Silver City.

From here, we'll head to White Sands NM, the largest white gypsum sand dunes on Earth.  Even on 110 degree days, you can walk the dunes barefoot.  Sky-high Cloudcroft promises frigid temperatures as well as a lengthy downhill.  The underground Grand Canyon of Carlsbad Caverns and the beautiful Guadalupe Mountains will keep us busy until we meet Brittany in Alpine, TX.  For those that missed it last time, you can send me stuff and things at this address:


General Delivery
Chris Childers
901 W Holland Ave
Alpine TX 79830-9998

where I can pick it up on December 6.

Beans, tomatoes, avocados, hot sauce and Cap'n Crunch on a whole wheat tortilla. Yum.

Happy Thanksgiving.

P.S.  Christine took some great picture when she was with us on the Pacific Coast.  Check them out here.