If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you may remember Ryan Van Duzer — the bikepacker that I’ve been watching for quite some time.
Well, in these COVID days, he’s not able to get out as much as he wants, but he still puts up a video every so often, and I always enjoy them. A couple of days ago he put up one about nutrition on his rides. And of course, anyone who watches him knows that food number one with him is beans on a tortilla. And it looks like a great idea for the rides, except that in the US, beans usually come in cans, and that can be a little cumbersome on the bike. His solution? Once he opens a can, he finishes it off right there in one sitting. But I’ve seen some of his rides in Mexico and there they’ll have beans in foil pouches. Now that’s something that’ll work on a bike.
If you’ve ridden in Korea, you know that food is never a problem. Self-supported rides are easy because you’re never far from a convenience store. My favorite is probably CU, but 7-Elevens are pretty good too. For day rides of any length here, I’ll always stop somewhere along the way to grab something and sit outside on one of their picnic tables to take a break. It used to be a Snickers and a cup of black coffee, but I’m off both of those now, so it could be water and a snack.
And on a little longer rides I’ve recently discovered that their sandwiches are excellent. You can usually fuel up for just a few dollars, get a bit of rest, and be on your way. And the good thing is that you’re pretty much never more than a few miles from one of these places. Just the other morning on my ride around the reservoir — 23 miles out and around — I passed three brand new such stores that weren’t even there the last time I circles the reservoir just a month or two ago. They’re a staple here, and when they’re called “convenience” stores, they’re not kidding.
So yeah, I haven’t done a “What I love about Korea” piece in quite some time, but this — especially for a bike rider — ranks pretty high up there.
