Alpine tour, what can I take without getting into trouble

[bigjim]

There is a cafe we visit on club rides that has a sign saying, "if you want water it is 40p a glass" as they are on a meter. So an expensive bottle fill. Head to the cafe toilet and above the sink is a sign saying "water not for drinking". One does wonder.
As far as I'm aware, in France anyway, it is the law that a bar has to fill a cyclists water bottle. Never been refused. In Europe I will always fill my bottle from tap water. never been ill. I tend to climb over walls on French locked cemetries and fillup.

[Audax67]

There are plenty of sports shops & supermarkets everywhere, so carting food over from the UK is a bit superfluous other than for a first ride. Ditto powder for making up drinks. Also, in France anyway there are plenty of excellent patisserie shops, many with tea-rooms; and Austria has been known to bake a few cakes too (c.f. Sachertorte).

We are really quite civilized, you know.

[nirakaro]

a sign saying, "if you want water it is 40p a glass" .

That's quite a mark-up - my water bill is pence per tonne IIRC. I'd choose a different cafe.

[bigjim]

a sign saying, "if you want water it is 40p a glass" .

That's quite a mark-up - my water bill is pence per tonne IIRC. I'd choose a different cafe.

Yes, but it's £4.75 for a full English including a mug of tea.

[The utility cyclist]

cooked breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon+beans) is actually a very good breakfast, gives longer term energy release than many realise, certainly in tests people found that they were not just able to perform physically just as well than for other breakfast options they were fuller for longer and ate less at lunch. Obviously cooked breakfast in France it's not as readily available though some of the cheap chain hotels do them. Do eat the pastries or take one/two with you, basically don't scrimp on breakfast whatever it is you eat. i usually take a couple of extra butter pats from the breakfast table and whack them into a baguette with some Camembert.

Flapjack, when I was the support driver last year for my pals RAID Alpine I made my own flapjack for the guys and wrapped individually, I also marked on the box how many cals per portion, go with bigger oats if you can. I like taking stuff like midget gems (25p from tesco) the high sugar gum type sweets ideal for cycling are much more expensive/harder to find in France IME. I'd also suggest protein shakes post ride, what you consume after a big effort is as important as what you eat before and during.
So, finding somewhere to eat in the evening beforehand is important and within your budget, prices vary massively, ski resort restaurants can easily set you back £30 for an evening meal with a drink, off peak places can still get really busy so booking might be useful, speak to your hotel people for recommendations, this worked well for us when the only village restaurant was fully booked so we had to drive back into Val D'isere,

In France LIDL/ALDI/NETTO is your friend as these can be found even in very small towns and even villages, they're generally cheaper but with less choice than the bigger stores, Carrefour local are ok. Auchan, LeClerc are some of the bigger ones as well as Carrefour. Plan in advance where the supermarkets are on your route, this cuts down time, effort and stress and means you can locate things you need easily/easier or go out your way needlessly and not pay top price. Some drinks can be quite expensive, tea bags are massively expensive.

As for water, I filled bottles from a village fountain in the mountains on the raid alpine trip and no-one had any effects, I suspect they wouldn't do it themselves but it was cold and looked like it was designed to be drunk as well as being a feature. I have no qualms with this personally and have filled straight from water flowing off from a forest melting off the mountains direct onto the side of a road, not everyone is the same though, do what works for you.

[Sweep]

a sign saying, "if you want water it is 40p a glass" .

That's quite a mark-up - my water bill is pence per tonne IIRC. I'd choose a different cafe.

Yes, but it's £4.75 for a full English including a mug of tea.

Am really intrigued by the caff. Put me out of my misery Jim and name it. Then we can get back to the Alps.

[bigjim]

French supermarkets do very good sandwiches, but beware, the independents tend to close for lunch for some strange reason. The big foreign chains are now forceing the smaller ones to rethink the traditional Sunday and Monday closing as well. Nobody seems to have mentioned fruit. Bananas are superb cyclist food, but don't travel well unlike apples that can be a meal in themselves. I often snack off the masses of wild fruit growing at the side of the road in Europe also alongside canals in the late summer months. It's delicious. I rarely stay in a hotel that does not do Buffet breakfast, unless thats all there is. One of the reasons I like staying in chain hotels. Always a good buffet breakfast for about £6. Often they are on the edge of town, but many have good attached restaurants for a good value evening meal. If not, I have rung out for a Pizza delivery before now. There is always a Pizza joint.

[bigjim]

That's quite a mark-up - my water bill is pence per tonne IIRC. I'd choose a different cafe.

Yes, but it's £4.75 for a full English including a mug of tea.

Am really intrigued by the caff. Put me out of my misery Jim and name it. Then we can get back to the Alps.

No idea of the name, but it is in the middle of Todmorden. Daft thing is, they have a board outside saying cyclists and walkers welcome. But charge for water. Bit of a slog for you, even for a full English.

[Sweep]

tis a small world bigjim.

May search it out with a cycling pal from Tod.

Then off to the spoons for a better value beer.

(and their breakfasts aren't bad)

and they have given me free water to relieve one of their curries.

back to the alps.

[bigjim]

tis a small world bigjim.

May search it out with a cycling pal from Tod.

Then off to the spoons for a better value beer.

(and their breakfasts aren't bad)

and they have given me free water to relieve one of their curries.

back to the alps.

Tell your mate it's the one across the road from the market, next door to the vets.

[iandriver]

When we start touring, we pretty much all worry like you are. Once we're back, we wonder why we worried. One of the joys of touring in a different country is the food and drink. Just read up on the shop openings times, such as Sunday trading and enjoy whatever delights you like the look of. Bakeries and restaurants are very popular all over the world. You'll be fine. Plenty of space for water on the bike (as many bottle cages as you can fit) and big bottles always works for me with a little thought about refill points.