Kcal commuting

Gambatte
Gambatte Posts: 1,453
edited July 2007 in Commuting chat
Any quick figure for how many calories you're likely to burn cycling to and from work?

Comments

  • georgee
    georgee Posts: 537
    My HRM said I did circa 280 on my 5 mile flat 25 min central London commute.

    Havn't tested my new 14 mile commute yet.
  • Hackbike 6
    Hackbike 6 Posts: 3,116
    Probably the equivalent to one chocolate bar on mine. :(
  • ChrisLS
    ChrisLS Posts: 2,749
    http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/magazine/in ... e/calories

    ...try this
    ...all the way...'til the wheels fall off and burn...
  • domtyler
    domtyler Posts: 2,648
    edited March 2011
    Depends on your fitness, weight, level of exertion etc. so you would need a heart monitor to give you an exact figure for you, but around 50 kcals per mile is a ball park figure.
    ________
    Dc Medical Marijuana
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Porridge not Petrol
  • Jacomus-rides-Gen
    Jacomus-rides-Gen Posts: 453
    My Polar tells me that in 11.2km I burn between 365kcal and 440kcal depending on how I am riding that day.
    Sweat saves blood.
    Erwin Rommel
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    Don't worry about the kcal, just eat less and exercise more, and you'll start to lose weight.
  • domtyler
    domtyler Posts: 2,648
    edited March 2011
    BentMikey wrote:
    Don't worry about the kcal, just eat less and exercise more, and you'll start to lose weight.

    To be fair Mikey, nobody mentioned losing weight until you did. The OP may want to know in order to plan his nutritional strategy for a long commute.
    ________
    MOTORCYCLE TIRES
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Porridge not Petrol
  • tyskie
    tyskie Posts: 252
    For guidance, in my ride into work this morning which is 17.5 miles, it took 63 mins and I used 638 kcal according to my Polar. I would have expected to use a few more calories than that in one hour. Must have been Monday morning lethargy.
  • spasypaddy
    spasypaddy Posts: 5,180
    my cycle computer doesnt tell me how many calories i've used :( and my HRM doesn't either. But it doesnt matter its how you look in the mirror and i can see that i'm getting thinner so thats all that matters!
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  • Eat My Dust
    Eat My Dust Posts: 3,965
    I generally burn around 900 Kcals an hour when I'm averaging around 16/17 mph.
    SNAPS
  • tyskie
    tyskie Posts: 252
    tyskie wrote:
    For guidance, in my ride into work this morning which is 17.5 miles, it took 63 mins and I used 638 kcal according to my Polar. I would have expected to use a few more calories than that in one hour. Must have been Monday morning lethargy.

    Completely different on the way home. Managed to ride comfortably at average 135 bpm as opposed to only 120 in the morning (I found it tough in the morning to maintain a higher bpm) and got through 858 kcals. Took a few minutes longer due to the wind and generally crappy weather though.
  • Gambatte
    Gambatte Posts: 1,453
    Guess you're fitter than me!

    Mines 15 mile each way and took about 55min, but my HR is definitely higher.

    Generally in the 160s, but can dip just below 150 and in the 170s topping 180 on the longer climbs.

    I am looking to lose about a stone, but I have no 'plan' to. I'm just going to keep riding and see what happens.

    The original post was basically out of curiosity
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    domtyler wrote:
    BentMikey wrote:
    Don't worry about the kcal, just eat less and exercise more, and you'll start to lose weight.

    To be fair Mikey, nobody mentioned losing weight until you did. The OP may want to know in order to plan his nutritional strategy for a long commute.

    Easy guess though, innit.
    Gambatte wrote:
    I am looking to lose about a stone, but I have no 'plan' to. I'm just going to keep riding and see what happens.
  • Hackbike 6
    Hackbike 6 Posts: 3,116
    heh heh! :?
  • Greenbank
    Greenbank Posts: 731
    My cycle computer (which has no knowledge of my age, weight, weight of bike, weight of rucksack, amount of climbing/descent, windspeed and/or direction, level of fitness, or efficiency/rolling resistance) claims that I use about 250kcal for my 12km commute and that's at about 18mph average speed.

    If you want to lose weight. Keep doing your commute. Keep track of what you eat and how much you exercise. Weigh yourself at the same time every week and keep track of that. Eat your biggest meal at lunchtime rather than in the evening. Something like bikejournal.com is good as you can keep track of mileage and weight.

    Don't expect to lose weight straight away, you may even put on a few pounds in the first few weeks as your body creates new muscle to cope with the increased physical demands. I didn't see any significant change in my weight for about 6 weeks but I was visibly getting thinner. After 6 weeks my weight started to come down slowly but consistently (1lb or 2lb a week is ideal). I've now dropped nearly 30lbs and only 9lb away from my target.
    --
    If I had a baby elephant signature, I\'d use that.
  • georgee
    georgee Posts: 537
    22.7km
    57mins
    701 calories from door to bike rack.

    Thats seems high but it is bugging me whether I am alowd to go and get something from the vending machine given my energy expenditure.

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