Hydration
I found that supplementing my water with a sports
drink mix significantly increased my
performance. Gatorade worked well when I could not
find Cytomax, but Cytomax was substantially better
than Gatorade. Cytomax for the most part was
unavailable during my ride so I had it mailed to my
re-supply points.
A side benefit from using sports drink mixes was
they made me drink more water and stay better
hydrated. Both Gatorade and Cytomax worked equally
well in this area. Cytomax provided more
carbohydrates.
I drank plain water for a week and I found that
my body became nutritionally depleted much faster
and I could not push as hard.
Water
Whenever possible I packed enough water for the
day and evening if I was uncertain about my water
sources. If water was abundant I packed only what I
needed plus one bottle extra. Most of the time water
was available at camp. I almost always found an
Adventure Cycling designated camps site had water,
except three camp sites in Colorado, and none of the
designated campsites in New Mexico had water. On the
whole trip I used my filter about 6 times. Sometimes
I filled up at a roadside business or at a ranch
home. The streams and creeks were fairly nasty
looking. The trail cuts through a lot of free range
ranch lands and there were cattle everywhere. Guess
what was in the water?
Meals
Breakfasts consisted of either Cream of Wheat or
regular Oatmeal. Both are fantastic for packing and
the performed great for a long day in the saddle. I
always added brown sugar and bananas to both. Cream
of Wheat with a 2 ½ minute cook time was the highest
performance but it also used a bit more fuel to
cook. My only complaint was the Cream of Wheat came
in a 2 pound box which lasted about 10 -14 days.
Lunches consisted of bagels. I originally started
off eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but
packing a loaf of bread was a problem and hauling a
pound of peanut butter and a pound of jelly was too
much. Also the preparation was a nuisance. Bagels,
however, were cheaper, weighed a lot less, were easy
to pack, and easier to eat on the go. I averaged three
bagels a day. Also, when I was still hungry after
dinner, I fixed some Cup-O-Noodles and dipped my
bagel in it, excellent!
Snacking on lots of fruit proved to be a big
bonus for me. However, when traveling through small
towns, I either had a very limited selection of
fruit, it was near spoiled, or was non-existent. But
junk food abounded me! When all else failed cookies
worked out well. When possible I would stock up on 3
to 4 days worth of fruit, but that tended to weigh a
lot.
Freeze dried food, like Natural High and Mountain
House, was not part of my original plan, but after
three weeks I started using freeze dried dinners.
The dinners are great because there is no clean up
and when water is scarce that is good news. I could
easily eat the one, two, and four serving meal packs.
While on the trail my food intake skyrocketed. I
ate more than I did when I went through puberty! And when I finished
the ride I had lost 20 pounds. My metabolic rate went
through the roof and to prove it, if I wore anything
more than shorts and a t-shirt when riding on a 40
degree day I was hot.
The two heaviest packed items on my trip was food
and water.
I could only eat so much trail food so I often
splurged and went to a restaurant. Pancakes and
a double portion of French toast were some of my favorites.
I maintained a strict see-food diet. I see food
and eat it! |
