Motorcycle camping food choices

Can we discuss what food we take along and prepare on bike tours? After doing a few I'm starting to refine this art, learning what is good to bring,
and what is not, but there is still much room for improvement before my next trip. What is the best equipment to bring? Is it better to bring small
electric devices for cooking and rent only hydro sites? Or will a camp fuel fired bunsen burner and a few cans of stew be enough? I've seen multiple
motorcycle camping videos as well, and there seems to be an uncertain recipie! Please share what you have learned about feeding yourself on your
long journey.

For more in depth observation on how I have been motorcycle camping you can always view one of my latest videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXAVEEnelqs&list=PL2mTOJv2AJ5dKe2xevXeLNuNbYDwuCtbs&index=46

I'm a big fan of Mountain House freeze dried entree's, very tasty, not to salty, and with a heavy shot of siracha sauce hits the spot. I carry an MSR superfly stove to heat water, dump it in the bag and 10 minutes later have a nice hot meal. No camp fire cooking, simple clean up of a spoon or fork and toss the bag in the trash. The superfly is very compact, and the isobutane canisters are small and unobtrusive as well. Selection of the entree's is somewhat limited, but I'm a creature of habit so never is an issue. For coffee I use a cone drip filter holder over my coffee cup. The downside to this is my filter holder is molded plastic and inconvenient to pack, but makes a very nice cup of joe. Breakfast and lunch are typically roadside place's.

For me, I treat motorcycle camping like I was backpacking. Light, small and simple. Instant oatmeal, fruit and coffee for breakfast. Lunch on the road. Dinner is usually something dehydrated. All is simple to prepare, has no grease to make a mess cleaning up, and is small.

On the other hand, a friend I went with a month ago took a large iron skillet, a barbeque and cooked (and ate) a pound of bacon in the morning, along with four eggs. I just shook my head in disbelief.

My idea of a motorcycle camping trip is not to spend the day in the campsite, but to spend the day fishing, hiking or riding in the area. And things like grease and left over food, even if buried, draw bears.

Chris

Firebox Camp Stove

I just picked up one of these. They fold up small and can burn just about any fuel to include inserting a butane burner. I haven't used it yet on the road but I have used it around the house just to practice. I haven't mastered it but....... In the past I've ridden to the campgrounds, set up camp then gotten back on the bike and ridden to dinner. The new plan will be to pick up something to cook (now that my wife is riding her Spyder we've usually got a cooler with us), ride to camp, set up camp and cook dinner.

We usually just have coffee and nut mix for breakfast, this should make the coffee.

Seems to work well in a controlled environment, I'll likely carry some type of fuel (a couple of charcoal briquets, wood pellets, etc) in case of rain - I should have paid more attention to starting a fire with nothing but a stick and my good looks.

http://www.fireboxstove.com/combo-kits/5-inch-folding-firebox

I use a Coleman dual-fuel single burner stove. I burn gas taken right out of the motorcycle gas tank. I have a three-pot stainless steel cook kit. Basically, other than a microwave or oven I can and do cook anything I can cook on the stovetop at home. Burgers, brats, steak, chicken, chili, soup, pasta, etc. We stop at a grocery in the afternoon and get whatever we need for supper. And eggs. I boil eggs and we have them, often with toast, for breakfast. We usually just snack for lunch - crackers and cheese, or apples and peanut butter or all of the above.

Consider that we sometimes are on-the-road traveling for a month or two at a time. MRE (Meals Rejected by Ethiopians) type dehydrated food strikes me as OK for emergency use but not for everyday use for prolonged periods of time.

Added: I used to carry a percolator coffee pot. It took up too much room. But since I have the cook kit with a couple of pots I now carry a "Mr. Coffee" drip coffee basket. I just heat the water in the pot and dip the coffee in the coffee basket up and down a few times in the water and have my coffee. Nested in the cook kit the basket takes no space at all.

daboo said:

For me, I treat motorcycle camping like I was backpacking. Light, small and simple. Instant oatmeal, fruit and coffee for breakfast. Lunch on the road. Dinner is usually something dehydrated. All is simple to prepare, has no grease to make a mess cleaning up, and is small.

Chris

Click to expand...

Same for me. I use a jet boil. Starbucks instant coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, lunch on the road and freeze dried backpack food at dinner which I get from Cabelas. As was mentioned, check the salt content and go with the lowest sodium. Lasagna and white bean chillie is actually not too bad.

Another Jet Boil user. My camp site cooking is limited to coffee, tea, oatmeal and on a rare occasion dehydrated meals.

I've learned,the hard way, always carry some MRE's. Today's selections are darn rite tasty, compared to 5-10 years ago

I carry a Primus stove and pot system (stove and fuel fit inside the pot), with the lid of the pot also working as a skillet. Similar to Paul, I always find a place sometime in the afternoon to pick up whatever I'm planning to cook that evening. Typically, I'll carry some canned chicken and pasta, then pick up some vegetables at a road side stand or grocery store. Boil the pasta, then brown the vegetables and chicken, put it all together for a nice meal.

For breakfast, it's typically instant oatmeal and coffee from a small French press I carry. I'll usually pick up some fruit the day before to put in the oatmeal that morning.

I do carry a couple of emergency dehydrated meals with the lowest sodium I can find, but even the low sodium brands are not all the healthy to be eating night after night. They really are just in case circumstances get me to the campground after dark and I just want something quick before turning in.

Not much to add on the equipment side. I have a couple of stoves to choose from. Most of the time I take a coleman described by Paul. Coffee is a work in never ending progress.

Late in January I start getting antsy in anticipation of the coming camping/riding season. Monday or Thursday nights I will pull out my camping pots to cook a meal, get reaquainted with them make sure they are in good shape. I shop for the food that day, as I will on the road. I try and keep the shopping as simple as possible. I use the spices in my cupboard to make the meal. I keep notes in a composition notebook I have for the kitchen. I use small snack or an even smaller zip plastic bags to take along the spices that I want. You can find most of the food you want on the road, make do with substitutes, make a passable instant coffee for breakfast but spices make the dinner.

Hmmm...I wonder if camp stove discussions are like oil threads???

I pulled my 50 year old Bleuet stove out last summer to use and found I was on my last fuel canister. No problem, I'll just do a quick search on the Internet and pick up a few like I did last time. Uhh-oh. None to be found! Gasp! Horror! That stove has been with me since when I started mountain climbing in high school and has always been dependable. So my search for a new stove began.

Then to compound the problems, we had not just high fire dangers in our woods, but lots of forest fires. The rangers got real serious about this. No open fires. Just propane/butane allowed. I don't think the earlier shown wood-burning stove would be allowed. It would earn you a several hundred dollar fine...maybe before you made your coffee. That would suck.

So I started off by going to REI. I have a membership number in the low six digits. Been going there for years. JetBoil seemed the best choice, but ouch! The price! I just want to boil water, and I don't need a "system". I looked around at Cabella's and found a similar situation. There's other manufacturers, but the idea is to buy a system, not a stove. Though a stove can be found...but it isn't much less money. Then I get to reading the reviews and find the less expensive JetBoil stoves are either on, or off. There's no way to turn the heat down and keep your water warm. Gosh. My Bleuet stove did that, and was about $12 back then.

My search went to eBay, the purveyor of anything you want under the sun. Hmm...their stoves are as cheap as $7. Can't be true. They have built-in wind guards. They are fully adjustable, not just on or off. I decided to take a chance and ordered one. While I'm waiting for it to arrive, I go on an overnight in the North Cascades National Forest with two riders from Spokane. They have el-cheapo eBay specials and can't stop talking about how great they work. And they point out that at the price they paid, they could buy 2 or 3 to keep as spares.

So here's a similar one to what I bought. You'll find them for different prices. The stoves seem to be the same though. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultralight-...177100&hash=item58c5bed987:g:ydYAAOSwZd1VZXj8



I liked it enough that I thought I'd try a second. At that price, it wasn't like I was out of pocket much for the experiment.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monoprice-P...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649



The first one doesn't have a wind guard, but does have a igniter switch. That's not a big deal to me because I'd never go camping without multiple sources of starting a fire. The second one has the windguard built-in, but no ignitor. It seems just a bit more stable, though neither is unstable. Both also fold up into a small plastic container. The first stove's container is about the size of a large pack of gum. Small. Light.

So, I did a water boil test. If the stoves are this cheap, there has to be something lacking. I boiled 0.5 liters of water in 3.5 minutes.

I can't find anything lacking in these stoves...except they aren't a "system". Just a stove.

Chris

Great responses

Wow some great responses to this thread, thanks everyone for their input and I welcome any more to come.

I see a lot of reference to dehydrated food, which sounds to me like a special buy unless you live near some good outfitter stores.
I suppose I could order them on Amazon, but I dont think they would be that tasty, good in a pinch as emergency though, worth
maybe storing a few emergency rations.

Several posters have referred to the jetboil system. So I looked at those on Amazon as well. Looks like a cool little cooker, but I still
have some concerns. When I went out east on my 8 day trip to Gaspe I took a simple bunsen burner on a small propane tank system,
and found it not very practical. It takes forever to heat up stuff with it and literally an hour to boil water, because of too much air getting
under the pot, even when it's not windy. Plus the propane takes up room and is probably a nasty fire hazard storing that in the bike.
The jet boils seem more efficient that way, with wind guards and a closed pot to contain the heat, but it looks like you need to purchase
special fuel for them, and what happens when that fuel runs out and there isn't anywhere around that sells them? When you go to remote
areas it's hard to keep supplied on this specialty stuff. Either that or deliberately overstock on those fuel cells, which takes up valuable room.


I do like the idea of simply buying that night's supper at a grocery store which you just need to keep an eye out for one while travelling. Even
in remote areas there is always somewhere to get food supplies. I also find grocery store food to be infinitely superior to restaurant food or
fast food, your body will appreciate it. I find picking up a few onion buns, a little margarine and some cold cuts makes for a simple but very
satisfying picnic stop on your trip, as opposed to fast food, or spending far more than you should at restaurants. You can even forgo the cooking
altogether for lunch and pick up a premade salad with lots of filling feta cheese and other ingredients.

Many videos of travelling adventurers I've watched tend to stick to canned foods, as they stay perfectly preserved, are quick to prepare, and
economical on your budget. One can only live on stew and boy-ar-dee for so long though and too many cans in the pack weighs you down... a lot.

Bringing too many fresh items was an epic fail on my last camping trip. I like cooking perogies on a stick over a fire, much like you do marshmallows, it's
great, but the perogies spoil VERY quickly in a non refrigerated cooler bag. Upon investigating a foul odor coming from the bag, I had to toss mine after only 24 hours and I put them in there frozen.
Im learning not to stock up on too much food, and to buy what you need along the way. When I tried to stock a 3 day supply of food on the bike,
the weight of everything equaled having an adult passenger on the back! It sure felt like it anyways.

I dont think I'm going to bother with pre-made mixes in jars like I tried last time. Too much weight and too perishable. Something I learned back in the
day at summer camp on those outdoor sleepover events, but it doesn't seem to apply as well to a travelling trip on a bike.

I have a mess kit, but still like my tiny fry pan, but I'm also leaning toward looking at electric cooking devices that are very small and seeing if it would be
worth it to take on the bike. I can always rent electrical sites or find a plug somewhere, even in a park.

Keep the ideas coming folks, we have a whole winter of pipe dreaming and trip planning for next season ahead of us!

Another happy JetBoil user here. I can't stand dehydrated food, nor do I like carrying jars or cans. I pack some of that Indian food in foil pouches. The JetBoil will boil water in two minutes, then another two to heat up the foil pouch in the boiling water. Then I use a cup of the water to make some instant rice, pour the Indian dish over the top - very filling! For breakfast it's oatmeal with dried fruit added. When near a store with a salad bar I'll load up on the green stuff. Hard rolls and sharp cheddar are fast and easy food on the go. A big plus in my book is any food that creates a minimum of waste, less trash for me to haul out.

Richard, you'll find dehydrated food in places like Fred Meyer, Big 5 Sporting Goods, etc. You don't need to find a special place like REI to order it from. I think you'd be surprised to see the selection that's available. I wouldn't eat it every night, but when camping, it is great. It actually doesn't taste that bad. Be sure to look for the serving amount when you decide to buy some. Some packages serve four people. Some two, some only one person. And you can get breakfasts, and dinners both.

Dehydrated meals have some advantages. They pack light and don't take up much room. Prep is usually just boiling water and letting it sit to soak in. The cleanup is simple. The package serves as your "bowl" or "plate" to eat from. And if there's a trash can nearby, you can toss your stuff in there. Cans take up a lot of room and are heavy. This works much better IMHO.

When I started motorcycle camping, I just used the same philosophy I used when backpacking. The only real difference is the place I put everything. Instead of it being on my back, it is in my side cases and top case.

Fall is here, and so there's less rush to get a stove in the next week for the next trip. I suggest you buy one of those eBay stoves and just see how good or bad it is. For less than $10, it is a small risk endeavor. You might be surprised like I was. As for the JetBoil system, I think they are great...but overpriced for what you get and hardly any different for the basic stove itself. But the marketing department gets paid to make you think there's added value in spending ten times as much.

The reason I had to replace the Bleuet stove is because the fuel canisters are no longer made. All the butane stoves now use the same kind of connection to the fuel canister. And a nice thing about them, is you can separate the burner from the canister without having gas leak everywhere. So for example, the eBay stoves I bought, use the same canister that a JetBoil stove uses.

If you're really adamant about using your small frying pan, you'll need a stove that allows you to adjust the flame. The two I referenced will do that. You'll need to be careful which JetBoil or MSR stove you purchase because some have the ability to adjust the flame, others don't.

If you feel leery about buying from eBay, check out the "Camp Chef® Stryker Propane Backpacking Stove" at Cabela's. Cost is $65. I did some research on them, and the owners seemed to like them. The stove looks like a low-cost alternative to a JetBoil or MSR "system"...and at half the price.

Camp Food

See post #5 agree with Paul no reason not to have good food, the Coleman stove lets you control the heat most cooking not done on high heat. All the ads for stoves brag about how fast they will boil a quart of water ( or a liter) forgetting most cooking not done at a raging boil

I love my fresh brewed coffee in the mornings and bought an Aeropress coffee maker that I use daily in the house and on the road ... think inverted French press. I also found a hand grinder that perfectly slips inside the Aeropress. I carry lots of beans and grind just what I need for a cup. I use an MSR dragonfly stove ~15 years ago and it’s still going strong. It’s a bit noisy, but I like that I can control the flame from simmer to full blow torch.

I’ve done the dehydrated meals and still carry 1 or 2 with me, but prefer to shop for a rib-eye and veggies for dinner. Breakfast is sometimes ground sausage, eggs and shredded cheese cooked together in a non-stick skillet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I prefer freshly prepared food, but always have a freeze dried meal along just in case. I like the Jetboil system...



...paired with a good cooler.



No fuel worries with this canister.

I've been using the same little "Ebay" stove that Daboo pictured above. So far, one fuel canister has lasted through about ten days of camping, used for morning and evening meals and coffee. It still feels/sounds like it is about 1/3 full? I suppose I should buy a second one just to compare new vs empty weight. They are pretty easy to find at any store that carries camping gear. If you are traveling in areas sufficiently civilized to get to a grocery store every couple of days, you will not have any trouble finding a new canister.

Isobutane/propane canisters are available almost anywhere—Walmart, sporting goods stores, hardware stores and so on, and a lot of campground stores handle them as well. Easy enough to pick up a spare as you’re riding by. And pick up a collapsible or folding wind shield even if the stove you select has one built in, as even with a built-in shield wind will dramatically reduce efficiency of the stove. And stability of your chosen stove is key, for both safety and functionality.

I used to use white gas or multi-fuel stoves, but white gas is a PITA to find on the road and it’s not always easy to extract gasoline from a fuel-injected bike. And the achilles heel of those stoves is the generator tube, which even with twice-yearly doses of carb cleaner mixed in with the fuel can get gummed up and inefficient.

For camping rides I carry a Jetboil, an Aeropress, a small non-stick skillet, a small stainless steel pot (about a quart), a thrift-store melamine plate, a few utensils and condiment containers. That’s enough gear to make a meal out of whatever I’ve packed or picked up along the way. Everything but the plate goes into a small stuff sack.

Best,
DG

richardus said:

Several posters have referred to the jetboil system. So I looked at those on Amazon as well. Looks like a cool little cooker, but I still
have some concerns. When I went out east on my 8 day trip to Gaspe I took a simple bunsen burner on a small propane tank system,
and found it not very practical. It takes forever to heat up stuff with it and literally an hour to boil water, because of too much air getting
under the pot, even when it's not windy. Plus the propane takes up room and is probably a nasty fire hazard storing that in the bike.
The jet boils seem more efficient that way, with wind guards and a closed pot to contain the heat, but it looks like you need to purchase
special fuel for them, and what happens when that fuel runs out and there isn't anywhere around that sells them? When you go to remote
areas it's hard to keep supplied on this specialty stuff. Either that or deliberately overstock on those fuel cells, which takes up valuable room.
View attachment 64552

!

Click to expand...

Further to my last post the jet boil that I've used for about the last 10 years is the same as in your photo. The flame is adjustable and the fuel cartridge stores inside the unit. Fuel is propane-butane and can be found in most camping stores. It is a high quality compact unit and gets an A+ from me FWIW.