How many calories per mile do you figure?

res09c5t said:

Hi,
I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per mile
when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190 and am a 46
year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15 mph range. When I
use the various online calculators, I can come up with a big range of values
and most of the results seem too high- one was almost 60 calories per mile.
I have a hard time believing these numbers are accurate.

So, I'm curious what everyone uses for an estimate and if you've been able
to verify your number in some way.

About 30 kcal per mile at a moderate pace. If you're doing 100
miles/day you have to eat *a lot*.

"res09c5t" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:wKCme.12588$Ri3.9322@trnddc09...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per
mile when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190 and am
a 46 year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15 mph range.
When I use the various online calculators, I can come up with a big range
of values and most of the results seem too high- one was almost 60
calories per mile. I have a hard time believing these numbers are
accurate.

So, I'm curious what everyone uses for an estimate and if you've been able
to verify your number in some way.

Thanks!
Lyle

I have read that at a moderate pace the average person will burn about 35
calories per mile. I think this will vary greatly from person to person.
Your Milage May Vary.

Ken

Lyle said:

I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per
mile when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190 and am
a 46 year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15 mph range.
When I use the various online calculators, I can come up with a big range
of values and most of the results seem too high- one was almost 60
calories per mile. I have a hard time believing these numbers are
accurate.

At 60 calories per mile and 15 mph, you'd burn 900 calories an hour. That
might be fairly accurate for a guy your size. There's lots of variables, but
I'd guess 600 to 900 calories per hour would be in the ballpark.

Art Harris

Arthur Harris said:

Lyle said:

I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per
mile when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190
and am a 46 year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15
mph range. When I use the various online calculators, I can come up
with a big range of values and most of the results seem too high- one
was almost 60 calories per mile. I have a hard time believing these
numbers are accurate.

At 60 calories per mile and 15 mph, you'd burn 900 calories an hour.
That might be fairly accurate for a guy your size. There's lots of
variables, but I'd guess 600 to 900 calories per hour would be in the
ballpark.

I disagree. 60 Calories (not calories) per mile is too high. Did Hickey
produce that number?

First, note that the online calculator at
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm will
do all of this for you, so skip the rest if you don't care to see why I
think 60 Calories is too high.

The two key bits of info you need are
1. the amount of power it takes to go 15 mph, and
2. the efficiency conversion rate of Calories to work.

For the first part, it would take around 125ish to 150ish watts to
maintain 15 mph on flat ground, no wind, depending on whether Lyle hunkers
down over his bars or sits upright.

For the second part, 25% appears to be in the right ballpark, though there
is some variability in the conversion rate among individuals. Some people
use 24%, some 23.88%, others 23.6%. Many manufacturers of gymnasium
exercise equipment, power-measuring devices, and exercise physiologists
will use one of these numbers, with 25% appearing to be the most common
choice. Despite this consensus, Hickey chooses to use a much lower
efficiency conversion rate. That will tend to raise the number of Calories
expended per mile.

Anyway,
15 mph = 4 minutes per mile = 240 seconds per mile
150 watts * 240 seconds = 36000 joules
1 Calorie = 1 kilocalorie = 4187 joules.

So, with an efficiency conversion rate of 25%,

36000 joules per mile / (25% * 4187 joules per Calorie) = 34 Calories per
mile

If Lyle were able to go 15mph at 125 watts, he'd be burning 29 Calories
per mile.

These numbers are in rough agreement with the numbers given by Zog and Ken
elsewhere in this thread, and consistent with the 78 kg Antti.

Robert Chung said:

I disagree. 60 Calories (not calories) per mile is too high. Did Hickey
produce that number?

For a guy who had to admit you were wrong, you are sure leaping to
some (wrong) conclusions about how I might calculate this number if I
really cared (which I don't).

Mark "but it's nice to know you still love me" Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

res09c5t said:

Hi,
I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per mile
when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190 and am a 46
year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15 mph range. When I
use the various online calculators, I can come up with a big range of values
and most of the results seem too high- one was almost 60 calories per mile.
I have a hard time believing these numbers are accurate.

So, I'm curious what everyone uses for an estimate and if you've been able
to verify your number in some way.

Thanks!
Lyle

My Polar tells me after every ride how many calories I have burned.
Wether it's accurate or not, I still haven't figured out what to do with
that number.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

"res09c5t" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:wKCme.12588$Ri3.9322@trnddc09...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm trying to get a reasonable estimate of how many calories I burn per

mile

Quoted message said:

when I'm riding. I'm 6'3", 240 pounds but should be about 190 and am a 46
year old male. My normal average is probably in the 15 mph range. When I
use the various online calculators, I can come up with a big range of

values

Quoted message said:

and most of the results seem too high- one was almost 60 calories per

mile.

Quoted message said:

I have a hard time believing these numbers are accurate.

So, I'm curious what everyone uses for an estimate and if you've been able
to verify your number in some way.

Thanks!
Lyle

Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats program,
and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road bike, over
"rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no significant wind,
it looks like you're burning:

39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.

FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Lou Holtman said:

My Polar tells me after every ride how many calories I have burned.
Wether it's accurate or not, I still haven't figured out what to do with
that number.

I haven't figured out what I would do with my numbers for speed or
distance.

Cam

GaryG said:

Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
significant wind, it looks like you're burning:

39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.

FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
significant wind, it looks like you're burning:

39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.

FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express units
of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

GaryG said:

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
significant wind, it looks like you're burning:

39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.

FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express
units of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

It's actually 4.184 joules exactly since 1950, I believe, and 1 Calorie,
aka 1 kilocalorie, = 4184 joules. I assume it is the "large calories" that
you are talking about above.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.

GaryG said:

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
significant wind, it looks like you're burning:

39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.

FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express
units of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

Right, I realize I should have been clearer. How many calories do you have
to eat in order to produce 1 joule of work, i.e., what's your conversion
rate for dietary calories to work?

Alternatively and equivalently, when you were estimating 599 kilocalories
per hour for Lyle, how many watts were you estimating?

Cam said:

Lou Holtman said:

My Polar tells me after every ride how many calories I have burned.
Wether it's accurate or not, I still haven't figured out what to do with
that number.

I haven't figured out what I would do with my numbers for speed or
distance.

Cam

Exactly.
Heart Rate, cadence, exercise time and sometimes altitude give some
usefull information. Speed and distance are results and sometimes nice
to know or brag about.

Lou
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"Benjamin Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG wrote:

> Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
> program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
> bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
> significant wind, it looks like you're burning:
>
> 39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.
>
> FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express
units of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

It's actually 4.184 joules exactly since 1950, I believe, and 1 Calorie,
aka 1 kilocalorie, = 4184 joules. I assume it is the "large calories"

that

Quoted message said:

you are talking about above.

Yes..."calorie" and "joule" above actually refer to kilocalorie and
kilojoule (the kilo suffix is often omitted).

And I stand by my previous assertion...specifically (and less ambiguously):

1 kilocalorie [I.T.] = 4.1868 kilojoule

See: http://www.onlineconversion.com/energy.htm, and other such sites for
confirmation.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Quoted message said:

--
Benjamin Lewis

Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.

(PeteCresswell) said:

Some years back I read an article about the Race Across America.

One assertation was that all the riders lost weight because they just couldn't
stuff enough calories per day into their bods to avoid a deficit.

It's reported to be the same for most people who ride from Land's End to
John O'Groats (the length of Britain) - and they're only doing it at
touring pace, 60-100 miles per day.

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

GaryG wrote:

> Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
> program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
> bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
> significant wind, it looks like you're burning:
>
> 39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.
>
> FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express
units of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

Right, I realize I should have been clearer. How many calories do you have
to eat in order to produce 1 joule of work, i.e., what's your conversion
rate for dietary calories to work?

Alternatively and equivalently, when you were estimating 599 kilocalories
per hour for Lyle, how many watts were you estimating?

My method calculates average watts, and then backs into calories/joules
burned, using the person's age, sex, height, and weight to estimate their
resting metabolic rate.

In this case, the algorithm estimated that Lyle would have to produce 151
watts to average 15 mph, over rolling terrain, on a "loop" ride, on a
standard road bike, riding mostly on the hoods, with no wind issues.

Of course, outside of a sports lab, it's just an estimate. But, I think
it's a reasonable estimate.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Quoted message said:

"Benjamin Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG wrote:

> Plugging your numbers into the Calorie Calculator in my CycliStats
> program, and assuming you ride mostly on the hoods, on a standard road
> bike, over "rolling" terrain (30 feet of climbing per mile), with no
> significant wind, it looks like you're burning:
>
> 39.9 calories per mile, or 599 calories per hour.
>
> FWIW, my "rule of thumb" is 40 calories per mile.

What's your assumption for conversion of joules to calories?

Not sure I understand the question...joules and calories both express
units of energy, or energy potential.

FWIW, 1 calorie = 4.1868 joules

It's actually 4.184 joules exactly since 1950, I believe, and 1 Calorie,
aka 1 kilocalorie, = 4184 joules. I assume it is the "large calories"

that

Quoted message said:

you are talking about above.

Hmmmm...just did some Googling. The answer, apparently, depends on which
"calorie" you're talking about. Specifically:

1 calorie (International Table) = 4.1868 J

1 calorie (thermochemical) = 4.184 J

1 calorie (15°C) = 4.1855 J

1 calorie (20°C) = 4.1819 J

1 calorie (3.98 °C) = 4.2045 J

So, color me confused....the most common definition I've seen when searching
various conversion calculators use the International Table (1 cal = 4.1868
joules).

GG

Quoted message said:

--
Benjamin Lewis

Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:429b8194.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

(PeteCresswell) said:

Some years back I read an article about the Race Across America.

One assertation was that all the riders lost weight because they just

couldn't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stuff enough calories per day into their bods to avoid a deficit.

It's reported to be the same for most people who ride from Land's End to
John O'Groats (the length of Britain) - and they're only doing it at
touring pace, 60-100 miles per day.

From personal experience, I can assure you that it's not at all difficult to
gain weight during a tour like that. A couple of year's ago, on the Bicycle
Tour of Colorado (http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/) I gained about 2 lbs
in a week in which I rode 420 miles, and did nearly 30,000 feet of climbing.
Four meals per day, plus rest stops, snacks, and 3 or 4 beers each night
were more than enough calories for what I was burning on the bike.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Per Zog The Undeniable:

Quoted message said:

About 30 kcal per mile at a moderate pace. If you're doing 100
miles/day you have to eat *a lot*.

Some years back I read an article about the Race Across America.

One assertation was that all the riders lost weight because they just couldn't
stuff enough calories per day into their bods to avoid a deficit.
--
PeteCresswell