Food Safety While Biking

By Paula L. Fleming, Human Relations Generalist

While a few rugged souls have been riding their bikes all winter, bicycle season has just begun for most of us. Whether bringing along a snack to refuel along the trail or packing a picnic lunch to eat at some favorite spot, we need to be careful! Spoiled food doesn't necessarily look, taste, or smell any different from healthy food, and food can go bad after only two hours on the road.

Fortunately, taking a few precautions can ensure that we enjoy our food without suffering food-poisoning later.

Cold food should be kept below 40°F. If possible, freeze cold food before your trip. Packing it with ice or frozen gel packs will help keep it out of the danger zone, too.

Hot food must be kept above 140°F. If you're picking up something but don't plan to eat it in the next two hours, don't choose a hot item. Just as at home, your hands should be clean when handling food. Who knows what germs lurk in the road dust that sticks to your handlebars? Bring along a sanitary wipe (or a few) to use before eating.

If biking in a wilderness area, you may be tempted to drink from that clear rushing stream that whispers so soothingly. Stop! Either bring your own water or pack water purification tablets (to kill bacteria and viruses) and filters (to get out the parasites). But do drink plenty of water at regular intervals. You often don't feel thirsty until your body is quite depleted.

If you buy fruit or vegetables from a roadside stand, make sure to wash them well in clean water before eating. If you have any reason to believe that food may have spoiled, don't take chances! No matter how hungry you are, you'll feel a lot worse if the food turns out to have gone bad. And, if the nausea and runs hit while you're still on your bike ... feeling hungry is a far better fate.

Here's another tip for mixing eating and pedaling. As tempting as it is to dig out a power bar from your pack and munch while rolling along, it really is safer to stop, get off the bike, and eat. You can spare the five minutes, and you won't become the cycling equivalent of the cell phone-talking driver. (How many times has one of those nearly run you over?) When you're on the bike, both hands should be available for steering, brakes and gears. You also don't want to be distracted by, say a wrapper that won't rip open.

Of course, the wrapper goes back into your pack or into a garbage can when you're done, not by the roadside! Biking works up a great appetite, and having good food along makes the r ide more enjoyable. Riding and eating can mix, as long as we do both safely.