Chicago biking in the wind & counting calories

whiskeycharged

I went for a bike ride tonight at the lake front trail in Chicago. On my way out I covered about 11+ miles in 45 min on a mountain bike. I turn around & the wind is a beast. The rip currents were huge. There were points in the ride where the wind was almost pushing me in reverse. I literally got off 3 times and had to walk my bike for a minute. I've never done that before, it was just that intense. So 70 minutes later I cover that same estimated 11+ miles.

Counting calorie wise on MFP I put the first 45 min in the modest 12-14mph. How can you even roughly factor the other 11 miles in 70 min with all that wind resistance?

This is your math question. Try and work with what I provided. Estimates appreciated.

I weigh 163lbs.

MrGonzo05

I log the total time in the saddle. The speed I pick is based on how much total distance I covered in that time. If you had a strong headwind on the way back, you probably also had a strong tailwind on the way out.

It's a good question though, so I'm curious to see how other people answer.

TDGee

I agree with the above post that if you battled headwinds coming back, you probably had tailwinds going out. I actually plan my rides with the headwinds at the beginning of the ride, because a strong headwind can seriously tap my strength over time. :grumble:

The way I figured it is you rode for 115 minutes or 1.92 hours and covered a distance of 22 miles.
That gives you an average speed of 11.5 mph.
According to WebMD Fit-O-Meter, for a calorie burn of 852 calories.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-fitness-calorie-counter

If you have a smart phone, there are lots of free apps that use GPS to calculate your speed, distance and calorie burn. If you don't have a smartphone, pick up a cycling computer, they start at about $20 or so for the basic models.

Gapwedge01

I find using a HRM with a chest strap gives good readings. MFP estimates for cycling are high in my opinion.

TheBigYin

MFP Estimates for cycling are a load of rubbish. My Garmin 800/Powertap rear wheel combo regularly comes in at under half the figure that MFP guesses at. Now, for a 4 1/2 hour ride, where the actual burn was 2557kcals, it came up with 5131kcals. If I'm eating back my exercise calories, thats a difference that could wipe out an entire weeks deficit (as I'm running at 1lb/week - 500cals a day deficit).

Short answer - get a good, accurate HRM and use the figures from that.