A vegetarian who does not like vegetables

One of the things that will be different on this tour is that I stopped eating meat at the beginning of the year. So, I guess I'm a vegetarian now (but definitely not a vegan - I love cheese too much for that.) However, I don't really like most vegetables very much, which I suspect will leave me with limited dining choices while cycling through rural America on this tour. (I don't cook on tour, and eat in restaurants when I'm not eating junk food from my handlebar bag.)

I welcome any suggestions from experienced cycle-touring vegetarians. I have a feeling, though that I will be consuming numerous grilled cheese sandwiches for two months starting in early June.

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Scott AndersonThis is an interesting topic, but I really want to know more about is that no flat tire business. How are you going to pull that off? After four weeks, we just had our first flat of the tour. Not bad, but there’s room for improvement. Tell me more!
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4 years ago

Jeff LeeI'll be using these incredibly tough Sparwood tires that my wife selected, and which we used when we rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2016. I'll put Stan's Sealant in them. I 'll be extremely surprised if I get a flat, but the possibility of it happening might add some very minor drama, haha.

I once ran over about 25 goathead thorns with these tires, and plucked them all out without losing any air.
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4 years ago

Gregory GarceauHi Jeff,
Before I get to the vegetarian topic, I must agree with Scott in that I'm intrigued by the "no flat tires." I think I've had at least one flat on every tour I've ever taken and multiple flats on my first one. Multiple=more than 10. And they rarely happen at a convenient time. If you succeed, I will be so jealous.

So, I'm looking forward to your tour based on a number of things. 1) Whether or not you get a flat, 2) Your customized Egan route, 3) Your previous journals, and 4) How well you are able to stick to your new vegetarian diet.

I am not a vegetarian, but I've tried--and failed--to become one a couple of times. It was too hard because, like you, I was never a big fan of vegetables. Plus, growing up in Iowa, meat was a staple at every meal. Now, after more than a half-century of meat-eating, I'm convinced meat is as addictive as tobacco or heroine. I even wrote about my addiction at a state park campground in Tennessee while on one of my bike tours.

"Before setting out on this trip I vowed to eat more fruits and vegetables than I have on previous tours. Philosophically and ethically I sympathize with vegetarianism. I even tried to be a vegetarian in my college years. My attempt only lasted a couple of weeks. I am attracted to meat in the most embarrassing way. Occasionally I will eat ONLY meat for a meal--huge, unhealthy quantities of meat. Cow meat, pig meat, chicken meat, fish meat--it doesn't matter to me what kind of meat. It's what my body craves. I seem to be no less of a carnivore than a tiger."

There is no hope for me, but I really hope you succeed.
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4 years ago

Jeff LeeTo Gregory GarceauHey Gregory,

After two days on tour, I've not been tempted by meat... but then, I was never a meat fanatic like yourself, and virtually everyone else I've met from Iowa, home state of my wife Joy. The most disgusting thing that people in Iowa seem to like are the dreaded "ham balls". Gag!

Hope you enjoy the journal, and the suspense of whether I'll get a flat tire or eat a cheeseburger.

Jeff
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4 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeI think the two main reasons I left Iowa were to go to college and to get away from my mom's ham balls. Now you had to go and remind me of those things. If all meat tasted like ham balls, I would have become a full-fledged vegetarian back in 4th grade. To this day I fear that if I even TOUCH one of those things without sterilizing my hands afterward, I could end up with a hook for a hand--like that guy in your picture of the hand-washing sign.
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4 years ago

Lauri MarksberryI love it! I also do not eat meat. Never have my whole life not because I am vegan or a vegetarian but because I am just weird. I also do not like vegetables unless you count french fries. I make the best grilled cheese and mac n cheese around 😊 ....stay safe!
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4 years ago