Bicycle Touring Pro » Food

TryChips – The Healthy Snack You Just Gotta Try!

Darren Alff — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:23:18 +0000

TryChips – a tasty dehydrated fruit snack created as a healthy alternative to the chemically produced energy bars and gels so common in the today’s athletic industry.

These beautiful and tasty little pieces of dried/dehydrated fruit are sold online via the website at www.trychips.com and come packaged in colorfully-decorated vacuum-sealed space bags. But don’t let the packing fool you. The food inside is wonderfully flavorful and certainly worth trying for yourself.

After being sent one of each of the three TryChip flavors (Aspire, Endeavor, & Venture), I sampled the dehydrated “chips” for myself and passed them around with a few of my closest friends. The response? A delightful “Wow!!!”

That wonderfully refreshing taste that so often today is artificially produced with the use of sugar, corn syrup, and chemical additives, is 100% lacking in the TryChip product line. Instead, the chips are flavored with nothing but the fruits’ natural sugars and a splash of additional natural ingredients.

All three TryChip flavors are an absolute delight:

Aspire – which contains apple, apricot, pineapple, banana and pomegranate.
Endeavor – which consists of apple, blueberry, mango and banana.
Venture – which is made up of apple, strawberry, peach and banana.

TryChips really are a tasty little snack, a good alternative to those other chemically produced energy products, and something you should certainly try.

To learn more and/or order a package of TryChips for yourself, visit the official website at www.trychips.com

Disclaimer: This product was sent to Bicycle Touring Pro for free for the purpose of this review.

GU Energy Gels: Have You Ever Used Them?

Darren Alff — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:55:35 +0000

Have you ever seen those energy gel packets at the supermarket or in your local bike shop?

I had seen them in the past, but I had never actually tried any of them for myself. That is, until I was recently sent a sampler packet for the entire line of GU energy products.

Inside the sampler pack were 2 GU Electrolyte Brews, 1 GU Recovery Brew, 2 GU Chomps, 9 different GU Energy Gels, and 3 Roctane Ultra Endurance Enery Gel packets.

The company sent this to me in hopes that I would write a review on my website and share my findings with you, but the truth is, I don’t really know how to review a product like this. I just don’t know that much about the products and I feel a little uncomfortable reviewing food products as a whole.

So, here’s the deal: I want to know what you think of these things.

Have you ever used GU energy products for yourself?
Do you use them now? If so, what do you think?
Have they given you more energy?
Do you think they increase your athletic abilities?
Do you like or dislike how they taste?
Do you think they are healthy and safe?
What do you think of the products overall?

I’ve tried a few of the products thus far and I’m not sure how I feel about them. I was raised with a doctor father who told me that I shouldn’t eat something unless I can recognize all the ingredients in it. And while that is getting harder and harder to do in today’s world of processed foods, there are a few ingredients in these GU products that I am certainly unfamiliar with.

The texture of the gels is another thing I feel a bit torn about. When I opened my first packet of GU Energy Gel, I expected it to have a texture very much like that of yogurt, but the gel was a whole lot thicker than that (more like glue)… and a whole lot sweeter. The gels I have tried thus far have all tasted pretty good (my favorite is the Strawberry Banana energy gel), but the texture is strange. It might just be one of those things that you have to get used to. I don’t know.

Anyway, since I don’t feel comfortable reviewing a product such as this, I’d like to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if you’ve used these products in the past, what you think of them, and tell me whether or not products such as these are something you would recommend for others. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

The products featured in this article were sent to Bicycle Touring Pro at no expense for the purpose of this review.

Bicycle Touring For Weight Loss

Darren Alff — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:32:13 +0000

Is it possible to use a bike tour as a means of losing weight?

Think about it! On a long-distance bike tour you spend day after day on your bicycle, pedaling for hours on end, climbing hills, battling the wind, and pushing your bike. Surely all of that exertion has to pay off in weight loss… right?

Over the years I’ve met dozens of people who have been traveling by bike in an attempt to lose weight. And personally, I think bike travel is a great way to go about it.

But recently, I asked readers here at BicycleTouringPro.com to add their two cents to the issue and tell me whether or not they lost weight on their previous bike tours… and if so, how much weight they lost. The results of that survey are shown below.

This isn’t the greatest graph in the world, but what is shown here is that of those surveyed, most people who go on a bike trip actually gain weight – not lose it!

Of course, there were quite a few people who admitted to having lost anywhere from 5-20 lbs, but there were also a lot of people who said their weight did not change – even after a long distance trip by bike.

More interesting than the survey results, however, are some of the responses that were garnished via Bicycle Touring Pro’s Facebook page.

When I created the survey asking people about their experience losing weight while on a bike tour I was expecting a flood of individuals to tell me that they lost massive amounts of weight. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Some people said they were able to lose 50 pounds or more, but overall that seems to be pretty rare.

More common, it seems, is that the amount of energy required to ride a bike for long distances forces individuals traveling by bike to eat massive amounts of food. So much food in fact, that many of the people who set out on a trip by bike either come back home having lost no weight at all… or in some cases, having actually put on a few pounds!

My personal experience with weight loss over the past ten years of long-distance cycling is that I always lose weight. At home, I weight a constant 155-160 pounds. At 6 feet, 1 Inch, I am a lightweight. But on my bike trips, I typically drop between 10 and 15 pounds and gain it back quickly once I return home.

When it comes right down to it though, I think weight loss on a bike tour is entirely possible… and traveling by bike might be a great way for overweight individuals to get outside, do something fun, and lose weight in the process.

But if you are thinking about traveling by bike and using your trip as a means of losing weight, I think the food you eat while on the road is going to play a huge part in whether or not you end up losing any weight at all.

As you can see by some of the Facebook responses above, riding a bike for long hours doesn’t guarantee weight loss. The food you eat and the amount of food you consume plays a huge role in the outcome of your tour.

So my advice to you is this: If you are planning to use your trip by bike as a means of losing weight, watch what you eat! Bike touring can make you incredibly hungry and you’ll want to eat anything you can get your hands on, so you have to have some self-control. Set a diet for yourself before you leave home – and stick to it once you get out on the road. If you need to, consult a doctor before and/or during your trip to make sure you are eating the right kinds of foods and consuming enough food to keep you powered up during your cycling expedition. But if weight loss is your goal, don’t over eat! That seems to be the key!

What do you think about bike touring as a means of losing weight? Is it a good idea?

And if you’ve lost weight on your previous bicycle travels, what advice do you have for those who are wishing to use their bike trip as a means of losing weight? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Orikaso Fold Flat Tablewear: A Product Review

Darren Alff — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:36:21 +0000

Orikaso flat fold tablewear is one unique product! Likely a play on the word “origami,” which is the art of folding paper into a variety of decorative forms, Orikaso is a product made of flat colored plastic that can be folded into an entire table set – plate, cup and bowl.

It’s a great idea for people who spend large amounts of time in the outdoors. Bowls and cups, especially, are known to take up large amounts of space inside a loaded backpack or set of panniers, so the ability to have these items fold flat while in transport and then pop out during meal time is certainly appealing.

Unfortunately, as extraordinary as this colorful cook-set might appear, it has a number of flaws that, for me at least, rules it out as any kind of viable tableware.

My biggest complaint about the Orikaso flatware set is that even when folded flat, the set takes up just as much (if not more) space as my normal pot and cup. When pressed flat, the set measures nearly 10.5 inches x 10.5 inches. It’s weight is also nearly equal to that of the pot I use on most of my camping and bicycle touring expeditions. If the set could be folded down to such a size that it fit inside my wallet, then we might have something here. But at the current moment, I see little to no space or weight savings with the Orikaso tablewear set.

Additionally, I find the folding process somewhat difficult. Even after you get used to folding and unfolding the set, the process is somewhat frustrating. The cup, with it’s complex handle, is especially difficult to assemble. After a long day of hiking and/or biking, the last thing I want to do is struggle over the assembly of my plates, cups and bowls. I just want to eat!

Lastly, I have to make note of the fact I’ve never used a separate plate, cup or bowl on any of my outdoor adventures. I usually carry water in a bottle and drink straight out of the bottle… and I cook in a single pot, which I use as my eating bowl, plate, and cup. I understand that not everyone will take this same approach to outdoor eating, but I doubt that few serious outdoorsmen worry about eating off a plate at the end of a long day of exploration.

In summary, I think the Orikaso flatware idea is a good one, but it simply needs to be refined. If the product were lighter and could be folded down to fit inside the palm of my hand, there might really be something here. Otherwise, I see this product as something one buys, uses once, and then never uses again. Either that, or it is the perfect gift for that outdoorsy person in your family who seems to have everything.

My Rating: 3 out of 10

Have you used any of the Orikaso flatware products before? If so, what did you think?

Review Status: I purchased this product for myself. Amazon affiliate links are being used in this article.

181 Free Articles About Bicycle Touring, World Travel And Lifestyle Design

Darren Alff — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:22:03 +0000

2009 was one hell of a year!

At this time last year I was emerging from my apartment in downtown Luzern, Switzerland and celebrating the first of what would become 254 days of bike travel in 16 different European countries.

Since that time, I have covered thousands of miles on my bicycle (and on foot); written nearly two-hundred different articles on the topics of world travel, bicycle touring and lifestyle design; and I’ve been able to support myself while traveling about (despite the so-called “recession”).

By my standards, 2009 has been one fantastic year… and I plan on making 2010 even better!

Before we get too far into the New Year, I thought I would take some time to share with you the 181 articles that were published this year FOR FREE on BicycleTouringPro.com. I’ve bolded the articles I believe you should check out first… so scroll on down and see if there is anything that strikes your fancy.

I hope you enjoy what you find… and please stay tuned, as there’s a lot more in store for Bicycle Touring Pro in the New Year!

Bicycle Touring Pro » Food

TryChips – The Healthy Snack You Just Gotta Try!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to Bicycle Touring Pro for free for the purpose of this review.

GU Energy Gels: Have You Ever Used Them?

The products featured in this article were sent to Bicycle Touring Pro at no expense for the purpose of this review.

Bicycle Touring For Weight Loss

Orikaso Fold Flat Tablewear: A Product Review

Review Status: I purchased this product for myself. Amazon affiliate links are being used in this article.

181 Free Articles About Bicycle Touring, World Travel And Lifestyle Design

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