How many calories does road cycling burn?

[tuxbailey]

I did a ride this afternoon and the stats are as follow:

Male, 48 years old. 193 lbs, 5 ft 8".

Distance: 19.6 miles
Speed/Effort: Moderate, 12-14 mph. (actual avg speed is 12.9 mph.)
Time: 1 hr 30 mins.

According to various online calculator, including the one in my food tracking app, this event burned about 900 calories.

Does that look accurate? That seems very high to me. If that is the case then I am surprised that everyone who are trying to lose weight doesn't pick up cycling. That is like one meal worth in calories.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

I did a ride this afternoon and the stats are as follow:

Male, 48 years old. 193 lbs, 5 ft 8".

Distance: 19.6 miles
Speed/Effort: Moderate, 12-14 mph. (actual avg speed is 12.9 mph.)
Time: 1 hr 30 mins.

According to various online calculator, including the one in my food tracking app, this event burned about 900 calories.

Does that look accurate? That seems very high to me. If that is the case then I am surprised that everyone who are trying to lose weight doesn't pick up cycling. That is like one meal worth in calories.

Unless there was a ton of climbing or a very stiff headwind the number is high.

[zzy]

Measure with a power meter. Anything else is a guess.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Unless there was a ton of climbing or a very stiff headwind the number is high.

Ditto. Most 'calorie burn estimators' are wildly inaccurate, and tend to over-estimate calories burned. There are too many variables that these estimators can't account for.

[wallymann]

Originally Posted by zzy

Measure with a power meter. Anything else is a guess.

maybe so, but to burn 900 calories in 90 minutes on a road bike you'd need to be going faster than 12-14mph.

maybe 900 kcal estimate includes the human metabolic burn just living in addition to the exercise?

[John H.]

I would say 400-500 if you keep pressure on the pedals most of the time.

Do you have a smart trainer or have access to one? If so, ride the trainer at same effort for one hour and look to see the metric KJ. It will be pretty close to calories expended.

[BobbyJones]

General rule of thumb if you're trying to monitor your weight using burn estimations and calorie counting: Cut the estimate in half and see where you are in a month. Adjust as necessary.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by wallymann

maybe so, but to burn 900 calories in 90 minutes on a road bike you'd need to be going faster than 12-14mph.

maybe 900 kcal estimate includes the human metabolic burn just living in addition to the exercise?

This statement about 'faster' is incorrect.

12-14mph on a 10% climb requires more power, and therefore calories than 12-14mph on flats.

Powermeter will tell you exactly how many kJ of total work you put in.

[Dekonick]

Judging the time, distance, speed and lay of the land (Howard County - I am guessing) there were probably rolling hills if out west, and potentially good climbs in Ellicott City. With an average of 12-14, I am guessing Ellicott City. Am I right?

Bonnie Branch is one of my favorite climbs... steady 8% +/- 2 miles. Illchester right next to it to descend and repeat the 8% climb... great loop. If you want to puke, you can climb Illchester...

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by Dekonick

Judging the time, distance, speed and lay of the land (Howard County - I am guessing) there were probably rolling hills if out west, and potentially good climbs in Ellicott City. With an average of 12-14, I am guessing Ellicott City. Am I right?

Bonnie Branch is one of my favorite climbs... steady 8% +/- 2 miles. Illchester right next to it to descend and repeat the 8% climb... great loop. If you want to puke, you can climb Illchester...

haha. Close. Landings to Ilchester and then headed out to Lake Elkhorn and then back.

Yes the ride does include about 975 feet of climbing in that 90 minutes.

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by John H.

I would say 400-500 if you keep pressure on the pedals most of the time.

Do you have a smart trainer or have access to one? If so, ride the trainer at same effort for one hour and look to see the metric KJ. It will be pretty close to calories expended.

Good suggestion. I do have a Wahoo Kickr. Need to do that except I can't coast....

[giordana93]

the answer is always the same for me: not enough

seriously though, I know too many people who spend easily over 10-12 hours a week riding pretty hard who still can't get rid of the gut and it just seems to get worse with age, so any diet/exercise plan has to rely on some portion control. It would be nice to have some easy calorie intake/output calculus but there's just too much individual variance to be very precise

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by giordana93

the answer is always the same for me: not enough

seriously though, I know too many people who spend easily over 10-12 hours a week riding pretty hard who still can't get rid of the gut and it just seems to get worse with age, so any diet/exercise plan has to rely on some portion control. It would be nice to have some easy calorie intake/output calculus but there's just too much individual variance to be very precise

That is definitely true.

I have lost about 20 lbs since the new year but it was not from exercise. Intermittent fasting plus calorie monitoring seems to be doing the trick.

I have gotten used to drinking black coffee in the morning and I was a latte guy before.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by zzy

Measure with a power meter. Anything else is a guess.

This

Yes, I know some will say, "you have to account for metabolic efficiency". But most fall within a narrow range (21-24%), which means that work output is a very good proxy for caloric expenditure

[rnhood]

19 miles at 12.9 mph average... you should try riding a bike, you'll get more exercise.