Originally Posted by Rowan
A couple of observations:
1. To cook on a bike tour, you need to know how to cook at home. I often get the feeling that people who tour and eat exclusively at cafes or "cold" simply don't want to admit they can't cook. Of course, apologies to those who *can* cook but for some unfathomable reason don't on tour.
Apology accepted. When I was in college, I used to cook because I longed for Thai food, and to save money. My friend would walk over a mile to eat my food and talked lovingly to his mom how delicious my food was. She couldn't understand how stir fried cabbage could ber made tasty.
Originally Posted by Rowan
2. The time spent preparing, cooking and cleaning up after a meal is a bit like the old (and I think forgotten) family gathering time at home. I mean... what else are you going to do after you get into camp and have set up? Lie around doing nothing?
I go for a walk, see the sights or watch the sun set. Other wise I do the routine chores like taking a bath or shower, laundry etc.
Originally Posted by Rowan
Well... that's OK, but there is a sort of community in cooking, whether at your tent, or in the campground kitchen. It gives you a chance to interact with others with similar interests, and to pick a bit of information about where you're going and where they've been.
Different stroke for different folks. You do things you like, mean while, I talk to local folks and enjoy local wisdom.
Originally Posted by Rowan
3. What to cook? The sky is the limit! It all depends on your skills (refer item 1).
For some folk, the skillet would be the limit lol.
Originally Posted by Rowan
6. I wonder sometimes, too, at the endless budgets some people have to go on tour. Good luck to you. But for me, bought food in restaurants or takeaway/fast-food joints is just so, so expensive, and it is easy to blow $15 a day just in that. And after a while, it's much the same fare and can become boring. Add another $15 to $25 a night for campground accommodation and suddenly you're up to $40 a day without any other costs. I can't afford that sort of lucre, but it's not going to stop me going on long tours where I am fully self-supported.
When I tour, I'm on vacation. A penny earned is a penny saved for splurge. I worked very hard, and saved for future when I was young. If you look out for local restuarant instead of chain eateries, you can very often have opportunity to sample local delights. I'm not saying it's wrong not to eat local food. I respect your priority.
Originally Posted by Rowan
6. I like hot meals in the evening except in high summer. That's the way I am. Others might like cold everything. But without a stove, you can't enjoy a coffee, tea or chocolate late in the evening, or if the weather turns nasty, you can't satisfy your inner soul with a cold drink of water.
I hear you. Nevertheless, I don't drink even soda pop. So plain water is plenty for me. But hot choclate drink is something I usually don't resist. BTW I get inner peace with my soul through meditation.
Dear Rowan, we both have common likes despite having different taste for many things. We like touring, and cycling.