Conference noted::bicycle

	My girlfriend who was reading 'Cosmopolitan' magazine the
	other day said that if you ride 4 days a week for an hour and
	average 15mph. then you would burn about 2000 cal. I assume
	that these are very approximate numbers considering average
	everything. I didn't read the article ( I got too wrapped up
	in all the pictures!! :-). )

	Mano

    re: .1 
     
    These figures depend on the total weight of your body and your bike,
    and the speed that you are maintaining. (assuming flat ground and
    no wind as well)
    
    I read an article once in BICYCLING, and figured I was buring about
    1500 calories/hour.  (200lbs for me+bike at 23MPH)
    
    your mileage may vary,  (I'd love to find that formula!!)
    
    Robb

    
    
    these figures are from a recent Bicycling magazine
    
    speed            calories/min             calories/mile
    __________________________________________________________
    22.5             24                        64
    21               19.5                      55.7
    18.5             15                        48.6
    16               10.5                      39.3
    12               6                         30
    8.3              3.75                      27
    6                2.65                      26.5
    
    
    happy sweating!!!!
    
    Joe

    While we are on the subject of calories burned, I have a situation
    which has me a bit puzzled:
    
    For the last two weeks, I have been riding to work three days a
    week in attempt to burn off about 25 pounds of weight.  I figure
    each day I ride in burns about 2000 calories.  Between this and
    the riding I do on the weekend, I am riding about 150 miles a week.
    This means I should be burning that nasty fat off with no problem,
    right?  Wrong!
    
    I have actually *GAINED* almost 10 pounds in the last two weeks!
    I don't think I am eating more then before.  My pants feel a little
    looser, which means I must be slimming down a little.  I can't 
    understand where this extra weight is coming from.
    
    Can anyone explain this weight gain?
    
    Thanks,
    Denis

    re:.4
    
    Muscles.
    
    Muscles weigh much more than fat and take up less space.  That
    is why your pants are looser.

    Though I am no expert, I do know that muscle tissue weighs more
    than fat tissue.  I've been experiencing the same problem this year
    -- I am riding more than in years past, and though I look as if
    I'm slimming down (it's probably my overeager imagination), I
    absolutely died when I stepped on a scale last week.  It was explained
    to me (by a very sympathetic boyfriend saying "No dear, you don't
    look fat at all.  Now please stop crying.") that since I am exercising
    alot more than I used to, I am developing more muscle tissue, which
    firms up your body, and the muscle tissue is replacing the fat cells.
    
    So it really isn't an issue of how much you weigh, it's more of
    an issue of what your percentage of body fat is.
    
    	-Nancy

    It's possible you're actually overeating.  In addition, your weight
    will vary quite a bit based on fluid gain and loss.  I'll be down several
    pounds after a hot ride, even if I drink a lot.  The only way to tell
    is by weighing yourself at several points in a day and see the patterns.

    Muscle growth is actually quite slow, from what I understand; you won't
    see 10 pounds of it in a few weeks - that's for sure.

    You might try skipping dinner if you want to lose weight.  Eating early
    in the day will give you the energy to do a hard workout.  You'll be down
    on energy at night, but it won't matter if you don't have to do anything
    important then.  If you skip earlier meals, you won't have the energy to
    burn a lot of calories on a training ride, and this will negate some of
    the benefits of working out.

    It is also important to get in some long workouts to really lose weight.
    Try to allocate time to do centuries if possible - and see how far back
    you can cut your eating and still make it thru the ride without really
    bonking.  This way you will switch to burning some fat, and should be
    able to get a more rapid weight loss.  It's possible to overdo this
    kind of stuff, but just listen to your body and there should be no
    real trouble.

    Also, you simply cannot lose vast quantities of weight rapidly in a
    safe manner.  It has to be done over a course of time.

    [I've never had a weight problem, but have done a fair amount of long
     distance riding, and have a feel for the caloric consumption it takes.]

    - Jim

And, if all that was not confusing enough:  I read the following
"somewhere" a few years ago.

As you "get in shape" you will burn fewer calories on the same course
at the same speed, etc.  This is because your muscles have become "trained"
and no longer "resist" working together.

This is along the same lines as "you will sweat less" once you get in
shape reported by Reg in another note (with whom I agree).

You might reasonably expect to lose a pound a week while exercising
regularly as long as you can keep calories burned > calories consumed
(by 3500 calories per week, of course). Anything more than 2 lbs is
unreasonable to expect.

ed

    re. "it gets harder too"
          
              I agree with all you said except sweating. An exercise
      science major once told me that the more in tune your body is
    the quicker you will start to sweat, and the more you will sweat
    since this is how your body reacts to cool itself down. As you get
    into better condition, your body responds more rapidly.
    

There is room for a lot of variables in sweating.  I think it's
one of Ed Burke's books that says something like "Women perspire more
efficiently than men."  I think that's true -- from observing relative
water requirements, etc., but I haven't observed large populations so
that I could have scientific proof.

Eddie B's book claims that world class athletes, including pro-bike
racers, perspire much less because their bodies cool directly through
the skin because of their low body-fat percentages (3% or less).
He claims that these athletes need as little as 1 bottle of water per
100 km of a race.

Neither of these claims refutes .9 since it is comparing changes in
a single athletes conditioning.

ed

    re .0	If you've just started (~2 weeks) to commute daily then
    its unlikely that you have gained more muscle weight than you have
    lost fat.  Your body may just be taking on fluids for the twice
    a day routine, I know that mine does when I restart after an off
    period due to injury, business trips, (or lazyness) and I actually
    lose weight during those off periods when my body notices that I'm
    not exercising as much and somehow decides that it doesn't need to
    haul all that extra fluid around.

    	Reg
    

    re, weight loss.
    
    It takes 3500 calories to gain or lose a pound of bodyweight, assuming
    all else is equal.  So, if you don't change your eating habits and
    burn 500 calories/day more than normal you'll lose one pound a week.
    
    Also, rule of thumb is that a male can eat 15 calories/day/lb of body
    weight, women 10 cal/d/lb.  So, at 200 lbs, I can net (eat - exercise)
    roughly 3000 cal/day and maintain my weight.  If I want to lose
    10 pounds I would either eat less, or excercise an additional 150
    cal/day and lose the weight in about six months.
    
    That's how the theory works.
    
    
    bob
     

    This is an oldie but a goodie!!!
    
    I've got the number from the chart, but does anyone have the actual
    formula for deriving the caloric output per mile based on speed and
    preferrably rider weight?  

     You bring along a ziplock bag. As you lose your lunch you collect it
    in the bag. Once home you weigh it. The amount of weight will have a
    direct correlation to the amount of calories burned... :-)
    
     The formula escapes me at the moment...
    
    
        Chip :-)

>    You bring along a ziplock bag. As you lose your lunch you collect it
>    in the bag. Once home you weigh it. The amount of weight will have a
>    direct correlation to the amount of calories burned... :-)
    
    I've tried this...   BUT, since I usually EAT more than I accumulate in
    the bag I always wind up with a negative calories burned!!!
    
    Now, can someone out there without Chip's SICK sense of humor point me
    to the REAL formula!  

     Sorry, I couldn't help it...
    
     I know mph to distance to caloric tables exist, I just can't remember
    where I've seen them.
    
     I have a CATEYE Cyclosimulator that has a load/KCAL indicator on it.
    I'm not sure how accurate this is, but at approx. 25.5 mph (over an
    hour's period) the indicator read 1340 KCALS.
    
     At 20mph (over an hour) it's in the 700's I believe. Either way you've
    got to cook a lot fuel to lose a pound - I think it's 3000 calories
    burned per 1 pound loss.
    
     Chip

Oops, nearly forgot. You'll need to weigh your inhaled and exhaled air too, so
you will need to carry an air supply, plus a number of large balloons for your
exhaled air.

And you will need a fairly accurate weighing machine, as you will need to weigh
to an accuracy of 1/1000000000000000 gramme.

    and wear a wet suit so none of your sweat goes into the atmosphere
    then you can weigh that as well as the before/after of your water
    bottles.
    
    ed

    CHIP!  You see what you started #$%^&*(!!!!!!!  You and your whole
    bunch of note-reading, web-footed, hairy-knuckled, cycleholic
    philistines!  Now where the heck am I gonna find a wet suit with
    padding on the butt?

    I RESENT THAT!  I'll have you know I keep my knuckles clean shaven!
    
    ed

     You flatter me! My "note-reading, wb-footed, hairy-knuckled,
    cycleholic philisitines!" Wait a minute... You flatter them! :-) :-)
    
      Chip

    Well, actually here in Minnesota its quite a compliment to have webbed
    feet so I think it was a compliment to all concerned...  :^)
    
    And, Ed, I'm sorry about the crack about your knuckles...  again, here
    in MPO they have special signs at all the restaurants:
    
    		NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, HAIRY KNUCKLES - NO SERVICE!!!
    
    You'd be amazed how it keeps the crowds down!  But, where's my formula?