Cycling burns plenty of calories, so one of the joys of our trip is that we get to (in fact, have to) eat a lot. Our version of a balanced diet is to try to eat "healthy" food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and "junk" food the rest of the day. Based on our energy levels, it seems to be working well. On top of that, each of us gets to satisfy our "sweet-tooth" by eating lots of cookies and candies at our breaks on route and after arriving at our destination each day.
Our route was all pre-planned months in advance, down to the selection of every road across the country – mapped on computer and transferred to our handlebar GPS units. The one thing we couldn't plan for was road construction, which we encounter fairly frequently. Usually it's minor roadwork, but occasionally we come to a "Road Closed" sign. We always ignore these warnings and manage to get through, sometimes with a major effort, as per the pictures below from Thursday's ride from Canton, OH to East Liverpool, OH.
A break for a diet soda and junk food
Some of our candy and cookie choices
Peter's a caramel lover
Boldly (? foolishly) ignoring a "Road Closed" sign
Here's why the road was closed: a bridge under construction
A plank to get off the far end of the bridge
Carrying a bike so we could continue along our route
