Adding It Up

10 States

2 Provinces

15 days

3,000 miles

$1,084.24

During our recent road trip, we often explained our route to folks as, "traveling to Ohio... by way of Maine." This usually led to a few raised eyebrows, which was a perfect opportunity to outline our tour of New England. The next question was usually something like, "How are you able to afford a trip like this?"  The answer is plenty of prior planning and thoughtful saving.

This venture was the perfect opportunity for us to practice traveling frugally, simply and efficiently (by car this time). It gave us a chance to make our own rules, and test how they work. A review of our expenses reveals that it is quite possible to travel comfortably on a limited budget, so we wanted to share the good news with others! Here is a breakdown of costs for a 2-week 3,000-mile car trip through New England:

Gas = $375.29
Tolls = $41.15
Food = $373.50
Lodging = $218.61
Miscellaneous = $106.58

Costs Explained

Transportation - For this trip, we drove a 2003 Subaru Outback. It doesn't get the best gas mileage, but it averaged 28 mpg on highways. More importantly, it had the roominess and driving capabilities that we needed. We were hit hard with tolls around New York, and later opted to select "Avoid Tolls" on our GPS.

Food - We spent $100 on a grocery store stop at the beginning of the trip to stock up on staples like peanut butter, bread, snacks and produce that lasted us beyond the two weeks of traveling. This included several easy-to-cook items that could be mixed and matched for camp-stove dinners like rice and vegetables. When we realized we had stayed under budget, we treated ourselves to a few inexpensive meals "out." Note: Our "food" category also includes tasty local brews from places like the Bar Harbor Brewing Company, Atlantic Brewing Company and some exotic Canadian micros.

Lodging - The majority of our accommodations were tent sites. We were generously received by family and friends in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio (totaling 5 nights). Near the end of the trip, we noticed that the motel next to our KOA had a lower rate than our camping reservation. We cancelled our reservation (losing a $10 deposit), and treated ourselves to a small room with a mattress, cable TV (!), A/C and a clean bathroom all to ourselves. It's hard to believe it was less expensive than a patch of grass and public restroom! Word to the wise - Be on the lookout for better deals, even when you already have a reservation.

Miscellaneous - Most of these purchases were planned outings and fees, including park entry fees/passes and a kayak rental. Note: When traveling abroad (even if it's just across the border to Canada), be prepared for an "international tax" to be added to credit and debit card transactions. If you're only visiting for a short time (like us), and opt not to exchange for foreign currency, the few cents tacked onto your bill can be worth the convenience.

A Successful Experiment

When we finally added up our expenses and compared the numbers to our regular monthly spending, we quickly saw that these 15 days on the road were not tremendously more expensive than staying in our cozy little apartment and living a "normal" life in the suburbs. We are convinced that being able to travel in style does NOT require having lots of money, a travel agent, or a tour bus. So, if you're itching to go out and explore... do it! Just make sure you plan ahead!

"I Have Burned My Last Calorie"

As we made the final push up Mt. Vernon (see recent post here), we had the sensation of our own "low fuel" lights coming on, and the quote above was heard. We were reminded of Coach David Ertl's advice for base-training: Don't forget to eat!

"Yeah, right, like you would ever forget to do that.  But if you haven’t been doing much riding and all of a sudden start doing two hour rides, you may find yourself short of energy, especially if you aren’t eating enough carbohydrates to last you through your long rides.   Short rides of 90 minutes or less don’t need much special nutritional preparation but once you start riding 2 hours or more, you will need to make sure you increase your carbs and make sure you eat 2-3 hours before your long rides.  Although most of us have enough body fat to fuel a 2,000 mile ride, fat doesn’t burn fast enough by itself to keep you riding so you do need to make sure you have some carbs in your system.  Failure to do so will result in low blood sugar, or, as we like to call it, the ‘bonk’" (http://ragbrai.com/2011/03/11/ragbrai-training-time-for-base-training/).

We've come a little too close to the "bonk" a few times, which has motivated us to do some research on healthy, hearty pre- and post-cycling eats. Our first step was to determine how many calories we've been burning on a roughly 4-hour ride. We set up accounts with My Fitness Pal, which has helped us estimate the number of calories burned, incorporating our individual weight, height, speed, etc. We were shocked that we were often burning upwards of 2,000 calories... no wonder we were so hungry!

This brings us to the importance of a solid pre-cycling meal. We've been guilty of rushing out the door after just an apple or banana, and we've paid the price! A quick Google search proved pretty informative: lots of tips about what and when to eat - check it out and let us know what you think. What are your favorite pre-exercise meals?

Now, what about eating on-the-go? While we are not advocating eating while cycling, it's important to have pit-stops for hydration and refueling. We're big DIY fans (and enjoy a little creative time in the kitchen), so we're going to try out the recipes in this post from Adventure Cycling.