As this is being posted, I’ve just returned from a 5-day self-supported bikepacking adventure in Iceland. How did I prepare nutritionally?
I originally was going to be part of an Iceland biking adventure planned for July 2020, but we all know why that trip got cancelled…
So early this year when 5 of us from across Canada got to batting around ideas for a bikepacking adventure, I piped up with “Iceland!” and the gauntlet was speedily picked up by the rest of the gang.
We settled on a 5-day, 293 km Fjallabak loop, which is all unpaved and with 4,650 m elevation. As the Bikepacking.com website for the route describes it:
“Get your feet wet in dozens of water crossings and be rewarded with the rugged beauty of Iceland: moss-draped peaks, vast volcanic plains, rhyolite mountains, and far-flung hot springs. The Iceland Fjallabak Track is an otherworldly tour of the Icelandic Highlands that strikes a balance for riders seeking wilderness paired with just the right amount of support from the mountain huts along the route…”
Also, while my one time in Iceland was a 3 h airport layover on a beautiful fall day where I prayed for a plane mechanical that would force me to stay over, it looks instead like we’ll be experiencing true Icelandic “summer” instead.
We’ll have access to huts for showers, water, camping fuel, etc. and possibly food and snacks, but will otherwise be all self-supported. What are some of our nutritional planning?
As part of our group preparations, we engaged sport dietician Alex Winnicki of Second Arrow Nutrition – based in Greenville South Carolina – for a planning and sanity check meeting. What were some of the highlights of our meeting?
Think Like a Backpacking Through-hiker
Living near the Appalachian Trail, Alex is very familiar with the concept of backpacking and through-hiking, and his big advice is to get into the same mindset. That is, minimalism is everything because every gram you’re hauling with you on the bike, through river crossings, and on the hike-a-bike sections.
I’m lucky to live in Niagara with lots of wonderful local fruit throughout the summer, so I went a bit crazy with my dehydrator in preparation for the trip.
Besides just drying berries, I also prepared homemade fruit roll-ups. No risk for scurvy me hearties!
So while you want to maximize nutrition and calories, this is also the time to be a true weight weenie and consider the necessity of every item, from the packability of a food item through to the packaging. One obvious thing is to get away from cans in favour of plastic serving-sized packaging. While not necessarily environmentally ideal, opening a sealed serving pouch of tuna doesn’t need a can opener and the trash is easily packable.
And while one of my closest pals would take high-end camping espresso gear, grinder, and even a scale on our bikepacking trips, for me this is definitely the time and place for instant coffee in individual packets.
Pre-Make and Pre-Package
Alex advises thinking through the lens of “what’s the laziest thing I can do to get fed?” That’s going to be especially critical the more tired you are. Especially if stopping for a roadside lunch (and given the weather we’ll be facing), you want to avoid rummaging through your panniers for 5 different things and firing up your trail stove, followed by cleaning everything up.
So one easy example is breakfast. What’s the laziest thing I can do? For me, it’s pre-packaging 5 breakfasts worth of homemade granola, skim milk powder, and dehydrated berries into individual Ziploc bags. In the morning, just add water and there’s breakfast.
Tortillas – Better than Sliced Bread!
Tortillas are absolutely the most versatile carbohydrate. They’re typically available at almost any grocery or convenience store, come in a Ziploc and largely waterproof packaging, and are crushable and highly packable. They’re also versatile in being a sweet wrap (e.g., Nutella, honey, maple syrup, dried fruit) or a savoury/hearty wrap (pre-packaged proteins and sauce), so it can serve as food throughout the day.
Memories of Home
Yes, you can easily pick up commercial dehydrated camping meals at your local outdoor store and it doesn’t hurt to have 1-2 with you as a backup. But besides spotty quality, the high cost of these meals quickly add up. And far from home, a taste of home can also be huge for morale. You can actually dehydrate many of your typical meals (e.g., chili, pastas, rice dishes, sausages), pack into individual portions, then rehydrate with boiling water.
So for me, one of my staple home meals is a hearty “El Paso Pilaf” rice, beans, and vegetable dish. For a group meal for 5, I cooked up a typical amount (4 lbs), which I then dehydrated (about 10 h at 170°F in the oven spread on cookie sheets with parchment paper) down to 1 lb 10 oz. Compared to about $75 + tax for 5 commercial dehydrated meals, this cost < $10 instead for all ingredients plus electricity for dehydration.
Multi-Tasking Foods
While science has shown that it’s not actually possible for humans to effectively multi-task, this ability remains essential to bikepacking food. Besides tortillas, another example that Alex highlights is maple syrup. Available as gels or if you pack your own in a plastic flask, it can serve as on-bike nutrition at the same time as being spread onto food or into coffee as a sweetener.
Another simple on-bike way of fueling is homemade meal replacement drinks. In my case, this was skim milk powder, protein powder, breakfast drink powder, and crushed dehydrated raspberries. Put in ziploc bags, pour into your water bottle and off you go.
So think about food also in terms of versatility. If you have to carry it, ideally it can serve in multiple scenarios. This not only applies to your bikepacking clothing and gear choices, but also to your nutrition.
In my next Toolbox article, I’ll report on how everything actually worked out!
Stay warm, ride long, and have fun!
Thanks again to Alex Winnicki for the advice. Check out his range of sport dietician services at Second Arrow Nutrition. If you have any sports nutrition questions you want Alex to address in his upcoming Toolbox articles, contact him at [email protected].
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