Road Trippin' Must-Haves....

Hey! I'm still here! I can still be MIA from social media and blog, right? I got inspired to write this one while packing for Tahoe. It made me think: Since I've been dating John I think I've been on more long road trips than I ever have in my life for various reasons, mostly related to races, which is not a bad thing: triathlons, his car races, "for fun" trips, etc.

For Tahoe, we'll be on the road 8-9 hours (says John, I haven't mapped it on Google so I have no idea and don't really want to know right now) so I thought I'd share some of my must-haves for a long road trip.

Podcasts
This is by far the most important thing on a road trip, and rivals music these days! If you are going to be sitting there for that many hours, might as well learn something, right? I don't really like reading while I'm in the passenger seat, and a podcast is something the driver can enjoy as well so it's perfect. Here are my favorite podcasts:

*Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Executive
Probably my favorite podcast right now. I just started listening not too long ago and started from episode #1 so I am playing catchup. Lots to go, and every episode I learn something cool in attempts to be a better biohacker. Great diet info on here too.
*The Beerists
We love beer, so this is easy to love. It's a rad show where they sit around, drink beer and talk about it. Simple and perfect. Always makes me want to drink, and not necessarily a good thing, but then it becomes a good practice in self-discipline ;)
*Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast
Ben is one of the smartest guys I know, a great colleague to have, and is no doubt a major expert on the topics in the health, fitness, nutrition and the training world. I'll give you guys a little insight: I don't give him our EP podcast questions beforehand, and I'm not sure if he looks at them on FB but I don't think he does, yet he always has an awesome answer and can talk in detail about pretty much anything that comes up. Skills. Oh, and also on BGF podcast: you can't help but love Ben's co-host, Brock, who has a quarky sense of humor and is also quite knowledgeable himself even if Ben does most the talking ;)
*Rich Roll
I'll admit, I have to fast forward through his intros usually, and sometimes I skip parts of the meat of the show, but all still good stuff, and how can you not like Rich? He's so mellow, so chill.
*Vinnie Tortorich
Ah, Vinnie, the "Howard Stern" of fitness podcasts. Can't help but like this guy, as well as his sidekick Anna. He's like the opposite of Rich Roll, too, in case you didn't know. Yet they are good buds, and it works.

*Other
Of course, I have to shamelessly promote my podcast, Endurance Planet, if you haven't heard of it;) But I will say, I do NOT listen to my own show. Mostly because I already know what happens haha. Other than that? Every now and then I chime in to Competitor Radio or IM Talk, I'm starting to get into Joe Rogan, tried Jillian Michaels and hated it, hm. I'll also listen to one of John's others (he is a podcast whore haha).

Water
No surprise, staying hydrated on the road is important. That said, avoid the trap of over-hydrating and drinking out of boredom to the point where you have to stop and pee every 2 seconds! I also don't drink anything but water (or coffee if we are leaving early, which is usually the case). Never any sodas (diet or regular), never anything random from a convenience store. Occasionally, if we're lucky, we grab a kombucha if they're available wherever we are, and that is usually a big-deal treat if it happens.

Food
I always pack a bag of dry food in one of our reusable bags, a cooler with perishables, and some random utensils, tupperware "bowls" and napkins. I do not eat fast food or crap from convenience stores while on the road (shocking, I know), but, duh, I usually get hungry on the road! So what are some typical things we always bring?

*Baby carrots - we go through them like candy on the road
*Avocado - Always.
*Sardines - yes, I will literally eat my sardines and make John suffer through the smell all while trying not to spill sardine juice haha
*Hummus - this is more of a John thing, I usually don't eat hummus anymore unless I'm starving
*Coconut flakes. Non-sweetened, nothing added, just the meat in shredded form. I think these are absolutely great snacks and bursting with flavor even without sugar and salt and whatever else they add to those ones you find at TJ's. I get the brand pictured to the right.
*Apples or some kind of fruit - These days I almost view this as a treat because I find myself eating less fruit when I'm not active - high in sugar, not necessary
*Living Fuel Powders - Sometimes I'll make my "puddings" or drinks with the greens, superberry and/or protein. The "puddings", especially with the greens, look terrible, I won't lie, but I like it, what can I say? I love the taste, and it's healthy.
*Breakfast - If we are leaving early, I'll be sure to make time to cook something yummy for the road, i.e. a couple eggs with veggies sauteed in coconut oil, and a side of avo, or a kobacha squash mix.
*Leftovers - Whatever was left in the fridge and needs to be eaten always gets thrown in. This could be anything from grilled chicken to veggie medleys to leftovers from a restaurant we ate at. Ya just never know. Heck, we ate one of those pull-apart whole chickens on the way home from Vegas! Messy but tasty!
*Other raw veggies - Honestly, I don't really like raw broccoli or whatever, but I'll sometimes eat it on the road if it's that vs. something "bad" that I don't need when sedentary (although, sometimes I give into the not-as-great stuff; read on). One thing I do oddly like is plain arugula - it has great flavor and is tasty to munch on. Call me crazy...
*Chips - Yes, it's true. Sometimes we dig into a bag of chips on the road, and the rest is history. I am a sucker for some good chip-munchin', and sometimes I just give in when the craving hits. I at least try to buy good brands like "Way Better Snacks" (soaked and sprouted ingredients, no GMO, etc) or "Go Raw" little itty bitty chips made with flax and whatnot in various flavors...
*Salsa - It can get messy, but it's a good fresh thing to have around, and add flavor.

Music
Let's face it, podcasts get old and you can only handle so much information coming in at one time. We definitely hit the wall with podcasts, and then turn on the tunes. I can't even begin to tell you what kind of music we like listening to because it's literally all over the map. Everything from Led Zeppelin to Muddy Waters to Buena Vista Social Club to Sublime to Metallica to Classical.... I love it! We use John's iTunes Match, Pandora, and, very infrequently, the radio.

Misc.
Other randoms that you'll find me with:
*110 Play Harder Compression socks - duh!
*Ear buds - John and I both usually talk to multiple clients and/or are doing business of some sort while on the road; always workin' baby!
*iPad - My top uses for this on the road: Maps for directions; Yelp for finding food, gas stations or places to pee; work; social media
*Chapstick or some kind of lip balm.
*Sunglasses - don't leave home without 'em!


So, what do you bring? What am I missing here? (PS- and sorry for not providing more links... busy and packing while I wrote this!)