Cyclists

Holyspokes · 01-19-2009, 09:21 PM

I was wondering if any of you try to keep track of how many calories you burnt cycling, so that you can make sure you replace them. If so, how do you do it?

I either use the workout calculator in www.mapmyride.com, use 30-40 calories per mile, or use my HR monitor..

Not sure what is the most accurate though.

dilonious · 01-20-2009, 10:22 AM

I do, I have a powertap power meter that is very accurate for that..
it shows kilojoules of energy expended for the ride..

he conversion from Kj to calories is to divide by 4.18, but your body is about 25% efficient, which means you need to multiply by about 4 to get the calories burned which means...

The kilojoule value is roughly equivalent to calories burned. It's only a coincidence, but it's a useful one.

I have the data from every ride I do.. its nice to have.

dilonious · 01-20-2009, 10:24 AM

here is a good link that talks about it:

http://www.dallastrigeeks.org/Races/...8-25-2003.html

commonguy001 · 01-20-2009, 10:34 AM

KJ on a powermeter is best.
Good guestimates would be
500-650 Cal an hour going easy
800-1000 Cal an hour going hard or LT
somewhere in between or below for other efforts...
Group rides are lower than higher as you coast lots more usually unless you're on the front.
Racing is higher...

It'd be hard to actually replace them all as long rides for me are over 3k worth. Eat on the bike is my best advice and have a recovery shake afterward followed by a good meal.

When I raced it was hard to keep my weight over 165 as I was on the bike between 14-18 hours a week which is a lot of calories.

Dennis8269 · 01-20-2009, 10:49 AM

I use my polar 750i which is downloadable to a polar program. It keeps track of everything. I am looking to replace it with the Garmin 750 edge.

mtbkr · 02-09-2009, 01:53 AM

I use my Polar F6 to track my calories for Mountain biking - it averages approx 600 cal per hour, but is significantly higher for males - depends on your weight etc. A friend I ride with his HRM comes up with approx 850 cal per hour and we are going the same pace, but he is 15 years older than me too...
I stick to my usual eating plan as I ride on my cardio days anyway and since its not racing season for me I am only riding for about 90 minutes. I sometimes just add in an extra snack post workout.