Caffeine Free options?

[Trek420]

I'm a newbie, so I guess in part I'm wanting to be sure I have handy stuff to keep me from bonking -- and the food they provide may well be sufficient

My first ALC I really tried to forgo the evil drug . "Coffee bad, coffee dehydrates, don't drink it on epic ride" seems to be the party line.

First off if your blood type like mine runs Peets French Roast positive it's hard to go cold turkey. So on ALC 3 I drank juuuuuust enough to keep from getting a headache. There is coffee in camp, it's not strong nor the greatest and that seems to be purposeful but it's there.

But you will see Peets addicts plot out local coffee shops to stop at outside of camp (some towns really don't have one) or even the unsinkable Molly Brown brings a French Press coffeemaker each year.

So I tried to go without but round Day 4 that year I ran into some Cliff Choco Mint bars which have caffeine and I felt soooooooo much better that just said "sod it, I'm drinking coffee the rest of the way " and have done so since.

Just be mindful, lots of things dehydrate and if you do drink coffee take extar care that you're drinking ..... lots!

One way to tell is if you or your tentmate do not get up to pee during the night you're dehydrated.

Eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty and pee before you gotta go. (sorry TE but it's good advice on a multi day tour).

I'm wanting to be sure I have handy stuff to keep me from bonking -- and the food they provide may well be sufficient

The food is plentiful and excellent with lots of choices especially breakfast and dinner. Take a look on the ALC site for copies of the daily news and see the menus. I think you'll be pleased.

Lunch is generally a box lunch type, good overall but not gourmet.

There are rest stops and water stops about every 20 miles, they are never out of food. And some ALC veterans, and families of riders even set up unofficial rest stops with red whips, m&ms, water ..... watch for the cookie lady Day 2 and stop for artichokes at a stand.

ALC is no time to diet nor would you want to.

When I trained for it I pay a lot of attention to nutrition, admittedly more than I do now. I eat food .... that's made from food. Whole grains, no junk. But on ALC I eat anything they put in front of me. ALC 4, my 2nd ride I learned to pay more attention to my body, after going through the line in the dinner tent once, if there was something on the menu that appealed to me and I felt hungry I went back for 2nds. I stopped skipping desert on the ride.

I figured if my body was saying "yum, I want more stuffing and then cheesecake" maybe I needed that. And I had my best ride ever.

So find out what fuels you. Is there a favorite breakfast, recovery meal. Do you like gu? Or not? My "secret weapon" is oatmeal. Normally I don't like it, but on ALC I ate a huge bowl every morning, it keeps me fueled and energized through the 1st rest stop or longer.

Unless you have special dietary needs you do not need to bring your own grub. The one exception is if you have a favorite pre ride breakfast bring it to Day 1. The "no coffee" police are out in force, there will be plenty of juice, bagels, normal ride fare but if you can't ride up 92 and then Skyline without oatmeal in the morning bring a scone or too.

I didn't bring my "lucky TJ's oatmeal scone" last year and had a hard time