Bike riding mph question.

sethkey
sethkey Posts: 10
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello everyone!

I've been logging my daily bike rides lately and I'm struggling in my mind on how fast exactly I am going. I typically enter the light cycling (10-12) Mph, however I cant help to wonder if it might not be the right category for me. When I ride my bike I wouldn't call it light per say, but I wouldn't want to jump out and call it moderate either. At the end of the ride I'm exhausted and covered in sweat for what it's worth.

Does anyone have an idea, or recommendation for figuring out exactly how fast I'm averaging out on my bike?
Thanks !

Replies

  • Charger440
    Charger440 Posts: 1,474 Member
    I know exactly what you mean there. This is exactly why I bought a HRM. It turned out I was pleasantly surprised not by my distance but by calorie burned. BTW the MFP bike riding entry was way off, at least for me anyways, it was too low. I have a Timex HRM that was inexpensive and seems to work pretty well.
  • cloggsy71
    cloggsy71 Posts: 2,208 Member
    Do you have an iPhone?

    If so, get an app called 'CycleMeter'

    It'll tell you everything you need to know and some. I use it all the time!

    If you have an Android or Blackberry phone, I'm sure they have similar apps too?

    If you don't have a phone which will do this kind of thing, there are cheap Cycle Computers you can buy which log this info for you...

    Happy cycling :happy:
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
    Keep track of your time using your watch, phone, etc. and you can use Mapmyride.com to see how far you went, and it's really easy to use. Then just do the math to figure out MPH.

    However, on MFP I would disregard the MPH when logging and just pay attention to your effort, because that's what gets your HR up to burn calories. I know it's sad, but when I first started riding a year ago, 10-12 MPH on fairly flat roads was SUPER hard for me...my calorie burn was definitely in the "moderate" or "vigorous" range, not "light." And now, 12-14 MPH can be pretty "light" for me. I wear my HRM and guesstimate my effort when logging. MFP's calorie burn for "moderate" is within 50 cals of my HRM if I think I did that effort and the same with vigorous effort.
  • Marleneaa
    Marleneaa Posts: 16 Member
    Hi,
    I usually ride about the same area, I drove it with my car and got the mileage, then I time my rides and divide to find my MPH.
    Have a fun ride
  • sethkey
    sethkey Posts: 10
    Thanks guys, I appreciate all the great help. I think I'll just go ahead and track my distance and time and make the calculation. I'll have to make a specific target path because usually I spend most of my ride in an empty parking lot going around and around (haha).
  • AbqStrom
    AbqStrom Posts: 1
    So glad to read this thread. I just started riding my bike last wek and although I worked my way up to 8 miles in under an hour I was really disappointed when I saw what the calories burned came up as. I figured with as much effort as I was putting into it I had to be burning more. I'll check into a HRM and see see if I can find one I can afford.
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