Camping (cooking, eating and etc.)

It is necessary to eat. We live to eat or eat to live. While away from
home camping, eating is fun. Even cooking is fun at times.

In 2007 I bought a cooker set from Trangia. It is a set of 2 pans, a frypan
and the alcohol burner with a windshield. It worked fine. I used it
during Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de France in 2007.

This distilled alcohol (Spiritus or Brennspiritus in German, Alcool a bruler in French)
is easy to locate (at supermarkets) and not expensive.

Cooking at camping sites beside the tent was fun. I could prepare my lunch
while waiting for the race to pass at the feed zone. I prepared a meal on top
of le Mont Ventoux. Even under that extreme condition (that incessant strong wind),
Trangia worked perfectly. I am now convinced that Trangia is the right choice.

Trangia works fine. It is, however, not optimal if you just want to drink a cup of hot
coffee because of the assembly hustle. I obtained the JetBoil personal cooking system.
In 2008, this item will accompany me along with the Trangia.

On the other hand, shopping for food was not so much fun. I was always
pressed for time. Following a stage race is a stop and go situation. Occasional
shopping was necessary, of course. Shopping is time consuming.

It has something to do with the l'autoroute (motorway, highway) in France.
It is a toll way and you have to pay as you go.

In Germany driving on the highway (Autobahn) is free, at least you
don't pay at the toll gate each time. In Switzerland you purchase a vignette,
a sticker that shows that you have paid the yearly toll. In Austria
I always bought a vignette valid for 10 days.

Since driving on the highway costs, I avoided the l'autoroute in France when
possible.

There are huge supermarket chains in France like Carrefour, Géant or E.Leclerc.
They call those supermarkets "hypermarché". I realized that finding
these supermarkets as quickly as possible was essential. So this year
I already plotted those supermarkets along the TdF 2008 parcours
as waypoints in my Garmin StreetPilot.

Camping in France (and other countries)

Camping in France! I love it. According to some guide books, there are 
about 8,000 camping sites in France. In 2006 I visited 4 sites. 

1. "Camping France" by Michelin (www.ViaMichelin.fr)
   
2.  "Campingfuehrer Deutschland /Europa" by ECC (Europa Camping + Caravaning www.ecc-campingfuehrer.de/)

The word "camping" means in both French and German what it 
means in English, I guess. I had never realized camping was so
convenient and practical until 2006 when I travelled in France
to follow "Tour de France". 

I camped out at places not designated for camping. People just 
put out their tents wherever (along the parcours of the TdF stages)
they wanted. I joined them. I guessed, at that time, that the police 
turned a blind eye to those campers during TdF as long as they 
did not disturb the local community.

I talked to people who also chased the Tour and they told me 
that the police helped them find the place to put out their tents 
where usually camping is not allowed. I can not say that this is 
always the case with the police and campers outside designated 
camping sites.

Staying at camping sites is very reasonable (or at least cheaper)
than staying at hotels. I am not sure if staying at camping sites
is more fun than staying at YMCA (you know, the Village People),
though.

They have at least restrooms with running water, hot showers
and most importantly, security. All you need is a tent, sleeping 
bag and a cooker of some kind to boil water for a cup of coffee.

I purchased Garmin StreetPilot C510 Deluxe December 2006. 
And I love it. Driving to unknown locations via unknown route 
has never been so easy.