"For us, cooking for ourselves on cycle tours is part of the overall experience," says Angelika Hinteregger. "It simply tastes best in the evening in front of the tent, when you're hungry and tired from a long day of cycling." The indispensable kitchen equipment of the two cycling bloggers from Austria includes cooking pots, which they can also use as storage boxes for leftovers, and a petrol cooker - because fuel is readily available all over the world. In addition to rice, pasta and potatoes, the two often cook with ingredients typical of their country. Sometimes these literally fall in front of their bicycle tyres - such as in China: "During the sweet potato harvest, the farmers loaded their trailers so full that sweet potatoes were constantly falling off the loading area. We always picked up a few from the roadside and cooked them in the evening."
Insider tip: Peanut butter
Who? Angelika Hinteregger, 31 years old, and Reinhard Maxbauer, 35 years old
Location: Salzburg
Blog: www.saddlestories.at
The two Austrian cycling bloggers from Saddlestories.at tell stories from the saddle that make you want to see the world. Before the coronavirus crisis, they cycled 19,200 kilometres through 24 countries to Malaysia in 20 months. They are currently travelling through Great Britain by bike.
They also have an insider tip for a particularly nutritious, delicious dish to eat on the go: "One hundred per cent peanut butter is not only highly calorific, but also tastes really good with bananas or on a slice of bread. Simply heavenly!"
Cooking for yourself? Not with me!
Who? Thomas Neuendorf, 65 years old
Where? Berlin
Blog: www.grad60.com
"I don't cook for myself on my tours," says Thomas Neuendorf, "I enjoy being cooked for after a strenuous tour." However, the Berlin pensioner always has some provisions with him for the breaks in between: preferably nut mixes or trail mix, and if necessary, an energy bar if his muscles start to give out. "In France, I often had to resort to the sugar stuff, as practically all the restaurants on my route were closed between 1pm and 6pm." However, he much prefers fresh fruit to the industrial sugar that sticks between his teeth - preferably straight from the farm by the roadside. During an afternoon stop at an ice cream parlour, it can also be a strawberry sundae or a cappuccino - as a reward for the distance travelled and as a push for the last few kilometres. Neuendorf's favourite drink: a mixture of a little apple juice with lots of tap water or still mineral water. "You can drink more of it without burping than carbonated water."
Thomas Neuendorf was a press spokesman for the Berlin police, today he is enjoying life as a pensioner. Together with Martin Manthee, he runs the blog Grad60.com - about travelling, sport and pleasure.
Use regional offers and try new things
Who? Annett, 60 years old, and Raimund Berens, 59 years old
Where? Velbert in North Rhine-Westphalia
We're not very picky when it comes to food, but always orientate ourselves on what's available locally," say world cycle travellers Annett and Raimund Berens. Whether it's insects in South East Asia or kaleh pacheh - boiled sheep's heads and feet in Iran: the two cycle travellers are always ready to experiment. Otherwise, the couple rely on dehydrated foods such as oatmeal, pasta, rice, couscous, quinoa and millet for longer cycle tours. "These staple foods don't require much storage space in the panniers, are economical, relatively lightweight and have a long shelf life." Another advantage is that you only need water to prepare them, which can usually be found locally. If the water comes from dubious sources, they always carry a water filter with them. "Otherwise, we have sworn by our spirit cooker for 20 years. It is very stable and always works reliably, whether in storms and rain or in frosty temperatures at altitudes of over 4,000 metres." Of course, all the preparation doesn't help when uninvited guests eat freshly cooked meals: In their absence, farm dogs in northern Germany made a mess of the spaghetti Bolognese. "When we came back, the plates were spotlessly clean."
Annett and Raimund Berens have been travelling the world on their bikes for over 20 years. They report on their outdoor adventures in their Blog.
There's a snack at lunchtime
Who? André-S. Niedzielski, 70+ years
Where? Irsee/Allgäu
In the beautiful Allgäu region, André-S. Niedzielski undertakes most of his cycling tours in the beautiful Allgäu, in his Franco-German Internet blog he tells us. As a doctor of medicine and author of the book "Gesunde Senioren - der Sport macht's", Niedzielski emphasises the importance of healthy eating. In order to be able to spend as much time as possible on his bike during the day, he avoids eating out at lunchtime. Instead, he opts for a classic vegetarian snack consisting of a wholemeal goat's cheese sandwich, an apple and a piece of chocolate. "Goat's cheese has a lower fat content than cow's milk cheese," explains Niedzielski. In the evening, the pensioner enjoys a good meal in a restaurant. "I mainly order light meals consisting of soup, fish, vegetables and a dessert," he says. "I avoid alcoholic drinks because they make themselves felt the next day." His insider tip for on the go: "Country bakeries with local specialities, such as sour cheese in the Allgäu or Chäschüchli in Switzerland."
André-S. Niedzielski is a keen everyday sportsman and cyclist. On his Franco-German blog https://meine-velotouren.de, he presents "Cycling tours for a senior citizen", mostly along well-developed cycle paths and country roads.
Provisions on cycle tours - What should I eat?
What does a balanced diet look like when travelling by bike? Nutrition expert Caroline Rauscher knows which foods are the best fuel for long cycling days.
Which foods and supplements are best for preparing your body for a cycle tour?
From a preventative medical point of view, it makes sense to have a blood count done by a doctor a few weeks or months before the tour to check the supply status of micronutrients such as magnesium or vitamin D. If you have deficiencies, you can compensate for them with a personalised micronutrient plan. If you have deficiencies, you can compensate for them with an individualised micronutrient plan. If the stages are demanding, you should also eat a particularly high carbohydrate diet in the days before the start of the tour to replenish your energy stores: Pasta, potatoes, rice and millet should now feature more prominently on the menu. You should also drink enough to start the tour well hydrated.
What provisions does the body need when travelling for several days by bike?
Carbohydrates are particularly important during exercise. The more intense the exercise, the easier they should be to digest. Before crossing an Alpine pass, you should opt for a white bread roll rather than wholemeal muesli at your hotel breakfast. If you are planning a more relaxed stage, you can have a more wholesome breakfast: Muesli, wholemeal bread, yoghurt, eggs and cheese. The same applies when you're out and about: if you're cycling at a relaxed pace, you can take a snack with you. If you are travelling for performance, you have to accept that your provisions will increasingly turn from a luxury food to fuel. Liquid carbohydrates - in the form of gels or powders - are a way of providing energy for particularly ambitious cyclists.
What helps with regeneration between stages?
At the end of each cycling day, you should have a protein drink or a protein-rich food - for example cocoa, buttermilk, rice pudding or yoghurt. Protein is important for muscle regeneration. Protein and carbohydrates should also take centre stage at dinner: To replenish energy stores, a nice pasta dish in the evening is more purposeful than a steak with salad. If you want a lean meat dish, you should also eat potatoes or rice.
Whether you are a leisure cyclist or a sporty cycle traveller: what to do when you get hungry?
As a general rule, you should not wait until you fall off your bike completely exhausted. If you notice that your blood sugar level is dropping, you should eat something early on. A carbohydrate-rich muesli bar - without sweeteners! - provides sugar. A bag of dried fruit such as dates is also a good option. Dextrose can be taken as an emergency remedy. After that, however, you should quickly top up with complex carbohydrates, otherwise the hypoglycaemia will get even worse.
"Carbohydrates are particularly important during exercise. The more intense the exertion, the easier they should be to digest. It's better not to reach for wholemeal muesli before crossing an Alpine pass."
What should you quench your thirst with?
With water or juice spritzers. A small pinch of salt should be added to both drinks. Sodium helps the body to absorb fluids and carbohydrates well in the intestines. I would refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages while travelling. Alcohol also dehydrates you. Alcohol also reduces your ability to react and your coordination, which leads to an increased risk of accidents. A beer or glass of wine in the evening is also not ideal because alcohol impairs the body's ability to regenerate. A non-alcoholic beer, on the other hand, is acceptable.
How can I eat a balanced diet while travelling as a self-caterer?
If you are self-catering with a camping cooker, you should opt for carbohydrate-rich products that are easy to prepare: Millet, pasta, rice or couscous. For dinner, I would recommend wholemeal varieties because the complex carbohydrates keep blood sugar levels more constant. Pulses such as beans, lentils or peas are recommended as a source of protein; unlike dairy and meat products, you don't have to worry about the cold chain with pulses. Or you can prepare a scrambled egg with dried egg powder.
Ice cream sundaes, cakes and chocolate bars: how many sweets are allowed on the go?
It is easy to overestimate how much energy you consume when cycling. If you tend to be overweight and cycle on an e-bike, you should avoid or reduce sweets for the sake of your health. Otherwise you will have more weight on your hips at the end of your cycle tour than before. However, if you're ambitiously cycling a lot of metres in altitude, you can treat yourself to a piece of cake.
How should I organise my diet after the bike tour?
After the tour, you should make sure that you adapt your diet back to your everyday routine, which usually involves less physical activity than when cycling. As a rule of thumb: less exertion means less carbohydrates and also less energy. In the evening, you shouldn't favour pasta and pizza like on the road, but rather a source of protein with salad and vegetables.
