Meal plan feedback invited

Date: Aug 29, 2004

Meal plan feedback invited

Date: Aug 29, 2004

Stacey,

Take a look at the topic 'Food' in the message board. Pretty good opinion sampling in there.

Best thing to bring wrt food is flexability and a few bucks. Eat some meals in camp and enjoy the cycling experiences and talk; eat others in town and enjoy locals, a cold one, and get the skinny on what's around town.

If you are a picky eater, the meal plan is not for you. Otherwise, you can do fine on the meal plan.

Jack

Date: Aug 29, 2004

I rode the first year and used the meal plan. It was OK unless you arrived late. Then they ran out of food. I think there is a menu for the meals, so you can see if the food is right for you. The only other problem might be if you don't get the meal plan and the camp is not close to town or any restaurants. Check shuttle availability. See if you can locate the camp on mapquest to see if you are close to town and restaurants. Good luck.

Date: Aug 30, 2004

I have ridden all five CNCs so have some basis for comment.

First, The food will normally be OK to good. As with most buffets, you don't want to be the last one in line however. With experienced vendors, or with the church or civic club sponsored meals, you don't need to worry about them running out BUT some new-to-this vendors have NO appreciation of how much a large group of hungry bikers can put away. The best way not to get stuck is to get there in the first hour--not at 7:30 AM or 7:00 PM.

For me, breakfast is a very important meal so I order all of them. I need a good start to the day, and I don't want to worry about finding it on the road. I never pre-order lunch because the lunch stop usually shows up way to early in the day and it is a hassel. Snacks at rest stops easily get me through to evening camp where the shuttle to town will be available. If you are not a breakfast person, the "coffee detail", with hugh muffin, can be a good alternative. You are VERY unlikely to have a McDonalds option in the morning. Our routes almost never pass a fast food place--which, by your note wouldn't interest you anyway. (-: (I thought I would starve on the first CNC because I planned on McDonalds pancakes every morning and never saw a Macs in 800 miles of riding. Even five bananas and a pop tart left me feeling empty by mid-morning.)

I normally order evening meals only if they are sponsored by church groups or civic groups since I can usually do better than $9 for dinner at a local resturant. I also like the opportunity to support the local community. (I don't mind the extra money if it is going to a non-profit thus the civic group purchases. Also, such groups rarely run short of great food.) Of course, the exception is if the menu items look really good, or the price is particularly attractive.

In summary, finding food places along the route has not been easy so plan accordingly. If Dinner isn't available by shuttle, it will be clearly indicated in the information you receive. It almost always IS available. A real breakfast, separate from what is offered at camp, is the main food problem. Otherwise, you are fine which ever way you choose to go. I never pre-pay ALL the meals. Pre-purchased lunch was far more of a pain than it was worth.

Hope all this helps.

Date: Sep 1, 2004

As others have said, the buffet meals are not bad - but not great. You'd better be in line 10 or 15 minutes early or you may not get some of the meal.

Every town has a shuttle in the evenings. Take advantage of it! Have dinner at a local restaurant. Get out with other CNC'ers and see the town. It's a great way to support local businesses, see the towns, and make CNC friends.

As for breakfast, I'd suggest getting the meals or going with Harold's Coffee & Muffin Detail if you prefer to eat light. Pack some energy bars for the week, too! They'll come in handy either for breakfast or a post-ride snack.

Date: Sep 7, 2004

During my rides with CNC, there was only ONE total disaster with a meal, and that was three years ago. That particular caterer would have had trouble feeding a senior citizens group half the size of CNC with the meager amount of food they showed up with. There was one mediocre meal two years ago--an amateur catering group thought cyclists lived on spagetti alone. All other meals have varied from okay to superb. A lot fo CNCers remember that really bad episode. Since then, Ithink CNC has done much to make sure caterers understand how important it is to bring and serve an adequate amount of food.

I still get to every meal early because I can't get past the memory of that one total disaster, but I don't expect it to happen again, and I recommend the meal plan.