| Cycle Touring Health & Medical Issues |
| Cycle Touring Health | Hunger |
It’s survival of the fittest. Anyone who has
traveled long term with someone on a cycling,
hiking or any other physically exhausting
adventure knows exactly what I mean.
Food is a huge deal. It took me (Amanda) a
while to figure this out. Sure it’s a necessity
during our regular lives, but it takes on a whole
new meaning when we’re cycling for miles in
the middle of nowhere and our food supply is
limited to what we can carry and what we can
find.
Who gets food, what food and how much food
is a really big deal.
There is never enough food. We have to fight
for our share. Rich eats four times more than I
do. Not by choice, this is just how it’s turned
out. No matter how much food we have Rich
never seems to get enough. I’m sure you’re
thinking, “Why don’t they just make more
food?” It doesn’t matter how much food we
have. It’s never enough. I serve the food and
give Rich 75% of the portion. By the time I
finish serving myself he’s already finished his
entire meal. Then he sits in front of me and
drools over my food, or starts to rummage
through our packs looking for more food as he
calls out to me, “What else do we have to eat?”
I feel so uncomfortable eating that I end up
giving him ¼ to ½ of the food I have left on my
plate. He then gobbles that down in 3 seconds
and continues to stare at my plate.
Long story short, I end up eating way less food
than what I wanted to. I tried all sorts of
different strategies. First I tried gobbling down
my food as fast as Rich. Conclusion - I just
make myself sick and nauseous. Then I try
eating after he finishes with my back to him.
Conclusion – I feel rude and most times we don’
t have the luxury of taking my time to eat.
Finally, I try not to look his way and pretend he’s
not staring. Conclusion – I just feel guilty.
.
Most of the time I don’t mind sharing my food
with Rich except for those rare occasions when
we find a treat so special that I want to make it
last as long as I possibly can. That only
happens once in a blue moon and it usually
involves bread. Nothing makes me happier
than finding a good piece of bread in Asia.
Sometimes we get lucky and discover a
European bakery with a multi-grain, whole-
wheat or sourdough bread. We always buy a
loaf and I look forward to making tofu
sandwiches and having it as a part of our
meals for at least two days. Rich has a whole
other mind set. I’ll tear a nibble off the loaf and
savor every bite. By the time I finish my piece
Rich has managed to eat the entire loaf the
size of a Chihuahua dog and is crumbling up
the empty wrapper into the size of a golf ball.
traveled long term with someone on a cycling,
hiking or any other physically exhausting
adventure knows exactly what I mean.
Food is a huge deal. It took me (Amanda) a
while to figure this out. Sure it’s a necessity
during our regular lives, but it takes on a whole
new meaning when we’re cycling for miles in
the middle of nowhere and our food supply is
limited to what we can carry and what we can
find.
Who gets food, what food and how much food
is a really big deal.
There is never enough food. We have to fight
for our share. Rich eats four times more than I
do. Not by choice, this is just how it’s turned
out. No matter how much food we have Rich
never seems to get enough. I’m sure you’re
thinking, “Why don’t they just make more
food?” It doesn’t matter how much food we
have. It’s never enough. I serve the food and
give Rich 75% of the portion. By the time I
finish serving myself he’s already finished his
entire meal. Then he sits in front of me and
drools over my food, or starts to rummage
through our packs looking for more food as he
calls out to me, “What else do we have to eat?”
I feel so uncomfortable eating that I end up
giving him ¼ to ½ of the food I have left on my
plate. He then gobbles that down in 3 seconds
and continues to stare at my plate.
Long story short, I end up eating way less food
than what I wanted to. I tried all sorts of
different strategies. First I tried gobbling down
my food as fast as Rich. Conclusion - I just
make myself sick and nauseous. Then I try
eating after he finishes with my back to him.
Conclusion – I feel rude and most times we don’
t have the luxury of taking my time to eat.
Finally, I try not to look his way and pretend he’s
not staring. Conclusion – I just feel guilty.
.
Most of the time I don’t mind sharing my food
with Rich except for those rare occasions when
we find a treat so special that I want to make it
last as long as I possibly can. That only
happens once in a blue moon and it usually
involves bread. Nothing makes me happier
than finding a good piece of bread in Asia.
Sometimes we get lucky and discover a
European bakery with a multi-grain, whole-
wheat or sourdough bread. We always buy a
loaf and I look forward to making tofu
sandwiches and having it as a part of our
meals for at least two days. Rich has a whole
other mind set. I’ll tear a nibble off the loaf and
savor every bite. By the time I finish my piece
Rich has managed to eat the entire loaf the
size of a Chihuahua dog and is crumbling up
the empty wrapper into the size of a golf ball.
| Lunch outside of Dalat, Vietnam |
| Rich eating again in Cambodia |
| Lunch Time in Laos |
| Roadside Lunch in Oregon |
| Tofu Sandwich in Sukhothai, Thailand Rich has already finished his and is eyeballing mine! |
| Amanda weighed 97lbs (44 kilos) when we arrived back in Thailand yet she could eat three normal-sized Thai meals for lunch. |
| Rich cooking in a hotel room |
Cycle Touring Health & Safety > Appetite & Hunger
