Hello Bikepacking!
Gonna be sharing a lot of words here!
I've been doing weekend bike rides and camp outs for several years, one of my favorite and more local trails being the 65+ mile Wabash Trace (I like to spend the afternoon riding the full 65, then camp out, the ride back home the next day) between Council Bluffs Iowa and Missouri. (I hear tell there's plans to connect the Wasbash with the hubs at the Riverfront in downtown Omaha and onward to the longer Cowboy Trail and MoPac going to Lincoln. Hopefully connecting Eastward fully to KC (without highway) and onward to the Katy Trail going to St Louis (would love to ride that one soon).
I camp for like a night, maybe two if I've got the time, so I usually just bring some dry snacks, maybe a burrito I picked up en route, and use a portable propane burner to cook something like hot dogs or Indo Mie noodles, maybe even stop at a McDonald or something wild like that. I will typically store something like a chocolate bar, a soda can, leftover burrito, maybe a piece of fruit in my chiller bag (pictured). It's got reflective insulation on the inner sides but I have a slightly bigger Titan chiller bag as well. Ice packs for nicely in the sides and bottom.
I want to start carrying meat, like a steak I pick up in the morning on my way out (all bike no car).
I know I can keep stuff like potatos, onions, garlic etc in a mesh dry sack and other dry goods like chips or something in my backpack.
Does anyone have experience with keeping perishables cold for summer time rides or rides more than 24 hours? Is this setup adequate? I wanna bring like a summer sausage, a cheese block, or some gabagoo, a little steak to cook and have with my noodles or make some rice and Japanese curry. Don't wanna be going into town everytime I need something. These ice packs say they stay cold for 20+ hours but ehhhh idk I need some reassurance or something. I reckon it would help to deep freeze the meat prior to putting it in the chiller bag and heading out so it's extra cold.
by 2Wheeling
1 Comment
I hard freeze meat for overnighters. Wrap it in foil, a small towel, and put other items around it to help insulate. It is usually thawed by the time I reach camp. If I wanted it to be cold longer, I’d probably invest in a high-quality but lightweight insulated bag of some sort.