Every time you stop at a fast-food joint, convenience store, cafeteria, or Asian takeaway, not to mention a HyperMart’s deli and ready-cooked meals section, you can pick up a few things for your next bike tour. I’m not talking rotisserie chicken, here. I’m talking condiments here—individual servings of salt, pepper, sugar, powdered creamer, ketchup, sweet relish, salsa, mayonnaise, mustard… There are just too many possibilities to list.

These make great take-along items for bike trips of any length. Few—if any—require refrigeration, and all have a long shelf-life. So grab a few each time you pick up a Thai takeaway or stop off for an InfarctBurger. (Don’t be greedy. You’ll have other chances.) Then tuck them into a ziplock storage bag, just in case one springs a leak. Later, when you need to liven up some bland road food, you’ll be ready. Here are a few ideas:

Salad Dressing  Take one packet of mayonnaise and one of ketchup and mix them together. The resulting dressing goes well with iceberg lettuce.

Tartar Sauce for Fish or Meat Salad  Mix single-serving packets of mayo and sweet relish with the contents of a shelf-stable packet of tuna or salmon—or a can of deviled meat. Eat as is, spread on bread, or roll it up in a tortilla.

Chicken Salsa  Add mayo and salsa to canned chicken. Roll up in a tortilla, or use as a dip with tortilla chips.

Creamy Instant Oatmeal  Empty one or two single-serving packets of instant oatmeal into a bowl. Now stir in one or two packets of coffee creamer, add boiling water and let it sit for a minute or two. Then add your favorite sweetener and dried fruit.

The bottom line? Don’t throw away those unused condiment packets from your next takeaway meal. Put them to good use, instead. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

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