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Unless you have been going to the gym this anti-cycling winter or riding an indoor trainer, chances are you've gained some weight lately. Based on requests from emails, I am reprinting a previous article I wrote in the Feb. 2000 issue, on losing weight on the bike and tracking calories. Look at that two-wheeled beauty in your garage. She is your ticket to a slimmer and healthier you. All you need is incentive during the hibernation days of winter to get back on the saddle. The problem with many of us is that we need feedback regarding exercise. How many calories did we burn? How long do we need to ride to affect our metabolism? When you can see your efforts in a quantifiable way, it inspires you to stay consistent, which is an important key to progress. Here is a way to determine how many calories you've burned on that demanding ride! Bicycling Magazine published the formulas quite some time ago to address the 'variables' that are a part of every ride: hills, wind resistance, etc. As with any formula it provides you with a baseline since conditions and heart rate can be quite varied. Here's how it works. You've finished an NBW Sunday group ride. You need to determine your average speed and the distance for that ride. Many cycle computers now provide average speed. If yours doesn't have one just take the distance divided by the time it took in minutes to do the ride. The next thing you need to have is your 'total' weight. This includes
you and your trusty bicycle. Most of that weight is you of course, and
losing body weight is far cheaper than ultra-light bicycle parts! Now
back to the formula. You have an average speed, a total time and
a total weight. We can now apply this to the formula in the table below:
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In the left column of the table are the average speeds. Next to that is the formula that corresponds to that average speed. Take the total weight you determined and multiply that by each formula. Fill them in along column 3. We're almost there. Feels like we're riding a century, doesn't it? Now take your column 3 number that matches your average speed multiplied by the time it took. That is how many calories you burned! Here's an example: You ride 17 miles in one hour, which is 17mph average speed. If you weigh 200 lbs. total with your bike, than that is .0675 (formula for 17mph) x 200 (lbs), or 13.5 for column 3. Then multiply 13.5 x 60 minutes and you get 810 calories burned. Not too shabby! By keeping track of your effort in energy and output on each ride and tracking your weight loss, you have a feedback loop to gage your progress. You can plug this formula and the equations into an Excel spreadsheet on a PC as a training log. Add comments on how you felt. Remember to eat right and cross-train with some resistance training as well. Lean muscle burns more calories than fat metabolically. A normal metabolism can burn an average of between 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day all by itself, on top of the calories burned during exercise! This cycling-specific calorie calculator will help you out on your quest to be in the best shape than you ever have before. Don't forget to update the 'total' weight you lose as you progress! Your Lycra and Spandex will finally get an expansion rest as you trim down. Besides, having a slim body rather than a "WIDE LOAD" gives those crazy cars we share the road with more room to pass you! See you on the road! Pray for warm weather!! Questions or comments, praise or banter?
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