Packing food for an in-ride personal picnic.
 

If I want to ride 20 miles to, say, horseshoe lake, and have a personal picnic there before heading back, what sort of food could I pack in my trunk bag that won't go bad in the heat, yet would be something I could actually enjoy eating when I get there? Side note: my cooking skills consist of can opening and operating the microwave.

If push comes to shove, I figure I could just lug along a can of soup and a can opener, a bowl and a spoon...

20 miles is only going to take an hour or two, so pretty much anything will be fine. Wrap in a jacket for a little insulation if you want to keep it cooler). I'd lean towards a fresh baguette, some brie, perhaps some nice luncheon meat such as prosciutto, some olives and perhaps a bottle of red wine (chill it before the ride so it's the proper temperature upon drinking). Fruit for dessert.

Pizza. Fried chicken. Sandwich and chips. Fruit. Pasta salad.

Use a frozen gel pack to keep cold stuff cold. Or, to save weight, freeze a water bottle. It'll keep food chilled on the ride out, thaw gradually and be ready to drink later. In summer I always carry at least two insulated water bottles, one of them frozen solid. It'll be thawed enough after an hour in summer heat to begin sipping.

From the time I was a kid going to the beach my favorite has always been a good tuna or chicken salad, with some crunchy bits of celery, a mix of hard boiled eggs and real mayo, etc., for variety. But it's gotta be solid albacore, not that cat food that passes for canned tuna nowadays. And good white breast meat for the chicken. Keep the bread (or pre-toasted bread) separate so it doesn't get soggy.

Cold thin sliced pastrami or roast beef with swiss on light rye bread is another summer favorite. Maybe some cold pickled spicy cabbage.

Crisp pickles. Some folks swear by pickles and pickle juice for preventing and relieving cramps from hot rides too. I just like 'em for the refreshing tartness and crispness.

I have a Dutch made AGU handlebar bag that's weatherproof, rigid shell, very plasticky but perfect for carrying food with an ice pack or frozen drink container.

Yes, whatever it is, wrap it in a towel and you should be fine. It's only a couple of hours. Take food that settles well in your gut and will not "come back on you" on the ride home. For me, PB&J and carrots work very well. Good fuel and no GI issues. I can eat more things when I get home. PB&J easily lasts for hours, all day with minimal protection. Don't leave it on the dashboard in the sun.

I used to regularly take a picnic with me, in my handlebar bag, into the late fall. There is a spot on our Cynwood Heritage Trail that is deathly quiet but pleasent. There are Adirondack chairs sitting in the sun there. Ride a couple of hours on a cold day then settle into one of those chairs, in full warm sun and eat your picnic. A great day. Oh, those were generally 40 to 50 mile rides, lunch about halfway.

I Don't do that anymore. Have not been into Philadelphia county since "the troubles" started.

Thanks for the advice. I was kind of afraid of giving myself food poisoning in this humid heat. (I am kind of amazed that summer weather held off as long as it did this year, in Wood River.)

Being the cooking challenged person I am, I make my chicken salad with canned chicken, pre-packaged hard boiled eggs, sweet-pickle relish, a container of mirepoix mix from Walmart and, instead of mayo, I use tartar sauce.

Pack some frozen otter pops in there to have a nice dessert that will be OK if they melt. I like "Good Pops" if you can find them. They are fruit juice based.

I once spent 7 weeks touring in Andalucia. One of my favorite things to do was pick up some jamon (the Spanish version of prosciutto), goat cheese and bread in town then stop at a nice spot to make sandwiches.

Canned fish is also good. I often buy foil packed tuna or salmon to make with dinner when I tour. Very light and compact. While I cook, you don’t have to cook it.

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Most of my rides start at 10am and at 1:30pm I have lunch. It usually is the following, that I carry in my trunk bag:

Ritz peanut butter crackers in the 6 count sleeve
Emerald Nuts Cashews Roasted & Salted, 100 Calorie Pack
Nature Valley Honey and Oat bar
Fig Newtons, two to a package
Gatorade 12 oz Orange.

Sometimes I add, dried fruit or dried beef jerky.

Almond butter sandwich on good bread for me. I used to not carry anything with me. Instead, I'd stop at a bakery I pass and buy one of their scrumptious chocolate creations. Can't do that now, since they want 24 hours' notice for orders. The almond butter is better for me.:)

BTW, I've switched to non-white tuna, because I've read that the Albacore tuna has more mercury than other types.

When I used to do long rides in the mountains:( I would sometimes take the tuna in the foil pack and make a sandwich. My friend who did fast double centuries clued me in. It worked well for my stomach.

Some people, like Biker395, can eat huge quantities of anything and then climb for hours.

If your trunk bag is big enough and flexible enough and even a bit insulated, a couple or a few small bottles of water frozen solid will keep stuff cold for some time even in heat and humidity. Wrap a white piece of old bed sheet around the trunk bag and it'll help even more (in conjunction with t he frozen water) to keep things cool.

Cheers

That's not a really long ride. But for an easy picnic or just to prevent bonking. A peanut butter & jelly on whole wheat has all the things you need, carbs,sugar and protein. A banana or raisins for desert. Easy to make, keeps well on the bike. Stay away from deep fried anything in the middle of a ride.

This exactly fits my thinking. When touring in France many years ago, grabbing a baguette, some brie, perhaps a nice deli meat and some dijon mustard early in the morning to stash in the back pocket of my panniers for later consumption was a standard (and delicious) routine.

I think, for me, a ready-to-eat cup of tomato soup, and a (microwave) grilled cheese sandwich, with a bananananana for dessert sounds good for today.

You must be French or Italian! I traveled Europe and the standard meal was jambon/fromage, or alternatively fromage/jambon.

We grabbed some of those when we went hiking at Zion last year. You can get the foil packets/little cans of tuna salad plain or in several flavors and some even come with crackers. They worked really well for something we needed to take with us and I can only add bringing a zip-loc bag with you if you'll need to haul your trash out of the area as well.

Also we know a woman whose prescriptions come refrigerated. She gave us a bunch of little freezer packs. They work well in a small padded cooler that fits easily in a bike rack bag.

My wife and I insulated one of my front panniers because we were having trouble keeping food fresh 13 years ago when we were riding across the U.S. We stopped early in Cody, Wyoming and bought a $6 sleeping pad and a roll of duct tape at Walmart. My wife did most of the work:) I replaced these panniers about 3 years after these pictures were taken, and the first thing we did was insulate one of my new front panniers. We used the old pannier last weekend to haul our lunches. It is also used frequently to haul ice cream home from the store.

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On one day rides we just put a couple of Blue Ice packs in with our food and spare water bottles. It will keep them cool all day. On long tours we buy lunch fixings in the morning, and then stop at a convenience store to fill up our spare water bottles with ice, which goes in the pannier. It keeps things cold and there is cold water for later in the day.
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New panniers getting set up. This concept could be used on different types of bags.
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Funny. I was at Horseshoe Lake yesterday.
For what you are talking about I would take canned beans, chips, and some fruit, That or some PB&J sandwiches. I camp a lot and I've given up on being fancy. I tell myself if I want to eat fancy I'll stay home and cook. One of my favorite camp foods is a can of no-bean chili, thinned with water then add a block of ramen noodles. I don't like messing with ice and a cooler. Sorry I can't be more help.

"Stay away from deep fried anything in the middle of a ride." I once stopped at a KFC 75 miles into a century.:twitchy:

That sounds perfect!

When I was in the Army in Europe, way long ago, I used to dirt-bag in the Alps when I had a few days off, hiking and climbing in summer, skiing in winter. Leaving my town of residence, I'd pick up a loaf of German rye, 100g butter, jar of jam, 100g cheese, and a sausage, one of the 1.5" D and 10" long types, then replenish as necessary. All I needed was that and one knife. I ate continental style - no sandwich.

I acquired an inexpensive, insulated "trunk bag" several years ago, brand name "Avenir". It's not a Yeti cooler by any means, but it has an expanding top so I can get those bulky items inside. But I also carry sandwich thins, peanut butter, Spam singles foil packs, tiny cans of veggie baked beans, instant grits and cookware/stove, a package of bagels squeezed down to sandwich thin size, fig newtons, ramen noodle soup, trail mix of dried fruit and nuts. An occasional bag of powdered donuts or Cheetos. I don't believe in going hungry. Put the non perishables in a pannier, and the beer in the insulated bag.

thicker and mirrorized insulation lined a shipping box I got some Medications that had to stay cool in & a couple packs of Blue Ice packets

a typical way Insulin comes in the mail too.. there are also small rigid syrofoam coolers serving the same purpose,
fits in a grocery bag, so maybe even your grocery pannier..

I see in the Ortlieb Catalog a Styrofoam insulated liner box that fits, by design, in their handlebar bags.....




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We took some of that bubble wrap with the reflective foil on both sides and lined the bike trunk. Works pretty good.