Originally Posted by
mymorningjacket
Is keeping my tent in its bag necessary? What I mean is can I roll / fold up the tent and rainfly together and shove it to the bottom of my bag to have the weight lower to the ground? Right now I have it rolled up in the bag and on the side of the bag reaching to the top of the pannier.
Also another question to do with bike touring: What sorts of food work well when on the road? Whats easy to prepare and make?
No, I tried this last trip, using the rear panniers as stuff sacks for footprint, tent and rain fly (left bag) and sleeping bag (right bag). And I do mean
stuffing, not bothering to roll the things. I like that it's quick. You can be packed in a relative jiffy by doing this. Tent poles go on top of the rack with the sleeping pad.
I'm a cold food guy; canned beans, sardines, tuna, crackers, Nabs (peanut butter crackers), etc. Don't drink coffee so don't feel the need for it to get going in the morning. Started carrying tea bags for the times when I want it after discovering that the convenience stores that have cups, hot water and sugar frequently do not have tea bags. Hot food is nice on tour but I buy it on the road when I want and get by with cold the rest of the time. Incidentally, on the last tour my bro-in-law started off with a Jet-Boil and sent it home after a few days.