Food on the road.....

Motorcycle camping typically leaves out carrying food with you. Honestly a cooler with enough food and cooking supplies for a weekend camp-out will be larger than your tent and sleeping bag. But there are things you can bring with you if we dip into the deep woods backpacker menu.

Dry soup mixes: like cup a soup and others make a very small meal that only needs water heated to 140 degrees. that means a small camp stove. (No heating the water on your motorcycle pipes will not be an acceptable substitute) This kind of meal is easy and many are quite satisfying. They are a favorite of mine on cold days. I prefer cup-a-soup brand.

Instant Oatmeal packets: Great for breakfast and work as easy as the dry instant soups. You can get assorted flavors that make a nice change of pace. Hearty enough to make you feel full and are packed with energy.

Instant Meals, I.E, MRE's: This is the expensive option and honestly I have not found one that I think is worth the price. They are handy but I dont see them as a real meal.

Granola or trail mix: Dried fruits nuts and honey oat clusters all work great as a snack that can be packed tightly.

Granola bars: the hard type not the gooey chocolate covered ones. Nothing makes a snack or dinner stink than dealing with a chocolate mess in your bags from a bar that melted in the 90 degree heat.

Coffee: I actually really like the Starbucks VIA sticks, they actually make a very good cup of coffee and are super small to carry. IT's a whole lot better than any other instant coffee I have tried and easier than carrying a french press or small coffee pot. It's like a decent cup of restaurant coffee. If you want to give yourself a morning kick in the pants, dump 2 of them into "water joe" a caffeinated water. It's like drinking a pot of coffee in 5 minutes.

Drinks: carrying anything but water is a waste. I like the drink sticks they have now for water flavoring, the arnold palmer half and half sticks taste just like the tea and lemonade cans so I carry those. there are a lot of options from different places on these. That way all I need to carry is water.

Main meals: If you can hunt or fish, there is your source of meat, just bring some small baggies of spices and you can buy packets of cooking oil or get it at the camp store. Dried beans plus good jerky and some spices make a very good stew if you have a camp fire roaring and can cook for a hour or two. you can even get freeze dried tomatoes, although tomato paste in a toothpaste tube is more convenient. I would skip being adventurous and bringing powdered eggs, I just cant enjoy them after eating them for years at boyscout camp.

Don't plan on never stopping to eat, You are riding and half the fun is the stop in a small town diner. You do not need to carry all your food for your trip with you, you can always stop at a store to pick up a couple cans of beans and steak for that night's meal. Having some smaller things with you to make life more comfortable is nice. I tend to like to eat a packet of oatmeal in the morning with coffee to enjoy the morning and let the sun rise, pack up and hit the road for a 9:30am stop at a small town diner for a nice brunch. It's nice to be able to sit at the camp at night and instead of going out for some pop, open up a bottle of water and mix up a nice soft drink for flavor.

Remember, you can always restock at the next fuel stop. Keep the shiny side up!