cooking gear for UK camping..who needs it ?

[bigjim]

I've tried the alcohol stoves and esbit. They both always seem to taste the food and drink and are not the easiest to light. Last year I took a mini gas burner to France with an adapter for the long gas cartridges which are really cheap. I like a brew and porridge in the morning but we tended to eat out at night. We also had one bad cold day of continous rain but were able to have a hot drink in a small village when all cafes etc were shut. One of the best meals we had was a tin of stew and a shared bottle of red, finished off with a coffee whilst sitting in the barbeque area of a quiet campsite in the South of France. Cooking setup incl stove, gas, cup and bowl was about 400g. Gas cylinder lasted all week and plenty left in it when I had to dispose of it before the flight.

 

[doog]

Another problem when cycling alone is trying to buy for one, in some places it is very difficult to buy single portions of anything. If you count the waste food and the cost of gas it can be just as expensive as a decent takeaway ( and a lot less hassle ).

The cost of gas is minimal, even doing Spain to the UK and cooking every night over 10 days, brews included, I didnt get through a 5 Euro cannister of gas. In addition worth bearing in mind it can be a life saver/ or just save your spirits ? whats the cost of cooking gear....£20 for a stove and pots?

This photo below was taken after I was hit by 4 hours of freezing rain that soaked me through in a very remote mountain region of France. The ability to eat hot food and have a hot drink when you need it most was evidenced that night, bloody hell I was cold. Cooking equipment seems a small sacrifice to pay for a touring cyclist....

(Worth bearing in mind just in case something happens and you dont quite make the next town / takeway.)

 

[psmiffy]

Another problem when cycling alone is trying to buy for one, in some places it is very difficult to buy single portions of anything. If you count the waste food and the cost of gas it can be just as expensive as a decent takeaway ( and a lot less hassle ).

One what? I never have problems - even in a lot of supermarkets its easy to buy excactly what you want in person size portions - in proper shops - butchers et.al. its even easier - and it allows for some interesting interactions with the locals

 

[rollinstok]

The cost of gas is minimal, even doing Spain to the UK and cooking every night over 10 days, brews included, I didnt get through a 5 Euro cannister of gas. (However i appreciate you are on about UK touring.)

In addition worth bearing in mind it can be a life saver/ or just save your spirits ? whats the cost of cooking gear....£20 for a stove and pots?

This photo below was taken after I was hit by 4 hours of freezing rain that soaked me through in a very remote mountain region of France. The ability to eat hot food and have a hot drink when you need it most was evidenced that night, bloody hell I was cold. Cooking equipment seems a small sacrifice to pay for a touring cyclist...I will never go without it.

(Worth bearing in mind just in case something happens and you dont quite make the next town / takeway.)

(No I didnt cook in the porch for all the H&S critics)

What a mess !! I couldnt live like that

I take your point, and have experienced similar. I,m still here today though and none the worse for the experience, despite not having a stove.
When the going has been tough and relentless with no sign of a blue sky, I have on occasions opted for a b&b.
My worst experience ( strangely enough ) was south of Clement Ferrand heading for the Med.. freezing cold driving rain with a strong headwind for 3 days and a number of passes to get over. I took shelter at a small village in a toilet/shower block which was unlocked next to a football field. A local official found me there in my sleeping bag the next morning. He invited me to his home where I was well looked after off the guy and his lady wife, stayed there all day and night before continuing in much better weather.
Sorry for rambling.. my point is that in most parts of Europe and specifically in the UK, the elements will not defeat you just because you dont carry a stove.

 

[jags]

i seen a great video one time of some scottish cyclist even on a long day ride he would wip out his parafin stove a cook up a big fry ,it was fantastic to see this guy knew how to enjoy his cycling and cooking was a major part of it brilliant.

 

[vernon]

I've never understood the reasonings behind not taking a stove

Weight penalty - not really noticeable on a bike.
Cheaper to eat out - oh really? Eating out would add a substantial extra cost to my summer tours and would shorten them by a week.
Difficulty in buying for one - not in the shops and supermarkets that are peppered all over mainland Europe that I've encountered
Scrounge a cuppa instead of making one - the OP is not a Scot or Yorkshireman is he?
Food waste - I once threw out a pulped banana. No other waste in around twenty weeks of touring.

 

[P.H]

I've never understood the reasonings behind not taking a stove

Maybe because it isn't a question of reason.
I'm on holiday, I want to spend as much time doing what gives me pleasure and for me that doesn't include cooking, shopping, washing up and carting a kitchen around with me. On the other hand, I take great pleasure from brewing a cup of tea in the morning without getting out of the tent. I'm no weight weenie, but not carrying full cooking gear allows me to travel with two rather than four panniers, that dose make a difference. When I'm touring I love the time on the bike, I'll often arrive so late that any cooking would be in the dark and make it a late night.
I toured once with someone who was the complete opposite, I have no doubt that the sourcing of the best local ingredients, the creativity in the meals from the one stove, the ingenuity of the folding collapsible cookwear, all gave them great pleasure. It wasn't my idea of a fun way to spend the time.
Viva la difference!

 

[rollinstok]

I've never understood the reasonings behind not taking a stove

Weight penalty - not really noticeable on a bike.
Cheaper to eat out - oh really? Eating out would add a substantial extra cost to my summer tours and would shorten them by a week.
Difficulty in buying for one - not in the shops and supermarkets that are peppered all over mainland Europe that I've encountered
Scrounge a cuppa instead of making one - the OP is not a Scot or Yorkshireman is he?
Food waste - I once threw out a pulped banana. No other waste in around twenty weeks of touring.

Weight penalty not really noticeable. Apply that logic to everything else and you wont get very far.
I,m from just the right side of the border but within a catapult throw of Hadrians wall. There may be some faulty genes in my system because of all the raping and pillaging the wild scots visited on us.
Cant be that tight if I prefer to buy a proper meal instead of huddling over a weak flame to warm up some pot noodles
There is no difficulty in buying for one if you will accept what is available. What if you fancy bangers and mash with just a small supermarket in the area.. do you buy a pack of 8 sausages and 5lb of potatos. I guess a tin of soup would be the compromise.

 

[bigjim]

You don't get a weak flame from a gas stove. You can buy most things in a can these days. I use one pot and 1 cup and eat well. I've also used an electric element which is great for a brew or boiled water if I was just making porridge or a brew and using campsites or hotel/hostels. It weighs hardly anything and I've used it all over Europe wherever I found an electric outlet.

 

[rollinstok]

I guess that for some people tents and camping = stoves and tent meals
Is it because there is a call for back to basics when camping ? A sense of adventure perhaps ?
Would the people who advocate never going on a tour without the stove, take a stove for a holiday in a b&b with the lady wife ? ..why not ?
Despite the very strong arguments from some posters, I still dont see a need to take cooking equipment when touring in the UK and most parts of Europe.
We live in one of the most densely populated areas of the world and even in the wilds of Scotland you are hardly ever more than a couple of hours cycling to the nearest shop/pub/supermarket/cafe/roadside cafe etc. In most places you are lucky to cycle for half an hour without passing a place to eat and drink.
Cost is a pretty weak argument when a meal can be had in any town with change from a fiver in most cases.
Backpacking is a totally different issue where a stove is pretty much essential ( a few posters went off on a tangent here )..the backpacker can be a days walk or further from any settlement.. roads, however, are only there to take you to one.
I do find it rather odd when many cyclists disregard the weight of what is in reality a non essential item, yet count the grams of the items that are pretty much a necessity.
I,m still going to get peelywallys suggestion to make myself a brew in the morning.

 

[andy_spacey]

If I did not take my cooking gear on tour I could not afford to go for 5 to 12 weeks at a time. ( A poor man and a bike) Trying to eat 4000kcal of real good quietly food a day would cost to much. When buying food I have to think smart. If I was well off and had a nice credit card. It would be nice to eat out, but I would still take my cooking gear for coffee and meals. The whole point of the bike is freedom to go any where and the stove is freedom to eat anywhere. But that's just me

 

[psmiffy]

I still dont see a need to take cooking equipment when touring in the UK and most parts of Europe.

Totally agree - there is no reason why you should take cooking equipment on tour!

 

[gilespargiter]

I certainly take my stove. My 1948 Swedish primus type, paraffin pressure stove that my grandfather and mother used to similarly use. Best stove in the entire known and unknown universe- because it belongs to me! Except possibly the modern multi fuel equivalents although it also works on bio-diesel, alias barbecue fuel.
Unlimited cups of tea and coffee whilst in my tent are essential and I can cook a “proper” meal with fresh ingredients very easily, in conditions from –anything to + anything. I find it an essential part of the pleasure to have the independence a stove gives. It is certainly a huge amount cheaper than eating out – but I can eat out any time I wish.
I have on a number of occasions got into adventures with local people in pursuit of high quality local foods at local prices.
I do think that although not quite as critical as backpacking, weight is an issue. I manage, when touring with a tent, with space to spare using two panniers and a saddlebag.
Taking the point rollinstock makes; it certainly depends on what you do and how long for, but one of the most common mistakes made, is to underestimate the weather, although this probably applies more to backpacking than cycling. You certainly can very easily go to places both in the UK and Europe where you may be defeated by it if under equipped. Try looking on your local mountain rescue web site at the rescues they have carried out. I know if you look at the N. Wales site, you will find that although most rescues are reported in good natured terms, in actual fact at least ninety per cent would be unnecessary if people were a little better equipped or more determined to help themselves before crying for a new nappy.
Of course if I use B+B, I still have my stove. . . and have certainly used it – for my unlimited cups of tea, British rail stylie. The only people that can make a decent cup of tea are Brits! I usually use an electric element or the kettle provided in hotels however.
A further point IMO if you think camping is “roughing” it – then you have not mastered your environment. This mastery is shown by the ability to walk into a new situation, clean, shaved, fit, fed and ready to go.
Of course, having said all this, the caveman technique is still very effective :- a flint and steel (cheap lighter) and a handful of very small sticks can easily be made to produce a cup of tea.
I see doog knows how to make himself at home, wherever he lands, looks as if he is very comfortable.

 

[vernon]

Would the people who advocate never going on a tour without the stove, take a stove for a holiday in a b&b with the lady wife ? ..why not ?

I wouldn't take a stove on holiday to a B&B because:

a) They provide an electric kettle, biscuits and assortments to make tea and coffee. A stove would be a retrograde step in efficiency.
b) They provide a cooked breakfast - the clue is in the second B of B&B thus rendering a stove redundant.
c) I will have budgeted for eating out when at a B&B and will have accepted the much higher costs than I would have paid had I camped with a stove.

If you want to pursue a stove-less existence with your messianic zeal then that's your prerogative.

I will continue cooking while cycle camping with each meal being much cheaper than eating out and the overall cost of the tour being reasonable. It's much simpler than you make it out to be.

 

[rollinstok]

I wouldn't take a stove on holiday to a B&B because:

a) They provide an electric kettle, biscuits and assortments to make tea and coffee. A stove would be a retrograde step in efficiency.
b) They provide a cooked breakfast - the clue is in the second B of B&B thus rendering a stove redundant.
c) I will have budgeted for eating out when at a B&B and will have accepted the much higher costs than I would have paid had I camped with a stove.

If you want to pursue a stove-less existence with your messianic zeal then that's your prerogative.

I will continue cooking while cycle camping with each meal being much cheaper than eating out and the overall cost of the tour being reasonable. It's much simpler than you make it out to be.

Oops, someones getting a little upset !!
If you read the first post and my subsequent posts you will find that I have fully appreciated every argument without being at all aggressive
The idea of the post was to convince me one way or the other whether to continue camping without a stove.. as it happens ( again if you read the posts ) I have decided to buy one for my morning brews

My views on your points

a) not always
b) ok if you only eat a breakfast and nothing else
c) this is a point of my question.. is it cheaper ? if not is it that much more expensive ? ( i,m talking takeaways etc-- again mentioned--and not the Ritz )

Why is it that people will "budget" if dining while staying in a hotel room, but not if they are staying in a tent ( which after all is a portable room )
I guess its just the way different people view camping. I look at touring as a holiday and not as some form of endurance/survival test. For £25 a day maximum I can pitch a tent, eat hot food twice, have cold food once and enjoy a couple of beers as well ( in fact most days I,ll have change from £20 )