Category: Biking

I decided it was about time I posted my bike route here. For those who care, it takes me about 25 minutes (depending on stop lights….arg). It isn't the best, and I definantly like my ride in Columbus, OH better! 

Continue reading “Richmond, VA Bike Route (as of 10 May 2006)”

Armstrong vs

We all know who lance Armstrong is. How about Merckx? Hinault? Indurain? Anquetil?

Even me, who has been into cycling these past two years had to go look them up. Turns out, these guys are considered the “greats” of cycling. Don’t get me wrong, Armstrong won seven tours in a row…probably a feat that will go undefeated for our lifetimes. But how would he stack up against these guys? That is an answer this BBC article analyzes.

In his era, no man had an answer for his speed, determination and pedal-pushing power, but how would the Texan have got on alongside the Tour greats of yesteryear?

Two years ago, BBC Sport pitted Armstrong against the other five-time winners – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain – in a virtual “Tour of Champions”.

Armstrong finished third to Merckx and Hinault then, but his legacy has grown since and, with his career over, now is the time for a re-run.

[Update 2013-01-18 06:58:05] Lance has admitted to doping.

In my post about how many MPGs I get on my bike I said I worked the numbers for Pepsi and came up with two different numbers. I now know why. I had a two liter of Pepsi. That TWO liter had 800 Cal in it. I then did the math like I had a one liter of Pepsi. If I rerun the math using the 400 Cal/Liter number, everything works out the same.

With gas prices on the rise–why does headline news have to report on the price every 1/2 hour–I thought I would do some interesting calculations to see what kind of mileage I get on my bike. I used the stats from my most recent ride as the starting point:

Ride Stats:
Distance: 32.6 mi
Time: 2 hr 9 min
Avg. Speed: 15.0 mph
Cal. Expended: 2500 (apx)

So, let's assume I go 15 mph (wind resistance is the most significant friction to overcome on a bike. As with all parasitic drag, it goes up as the square of the speed.). Given my last ride, I get 0.01304 miles per Cal (or, if you prefer a kcal…1 Cal = 1000 cal = 1Kcal)

Pepsi

Pepsi has 100 Cal. per 8oz serving. There are 16 8oz servings in a gallon. A gallon of Pepsi has 1600 Cal. That works out to 20.8 mpg of Pepsi.

Someone out there, figure out why I get different numbers if I work them differently. If I say Pepsi has 800 Cal. per liter and there are are 3.78 liters per gallon. That works out to 3024 Cal per gallon. This works out to 39.4 miles per gallon of Pepsi. Why the difference??? I cannot see where either set of numbers is wrong, but one of them has to be. Go get your 2liter out of the fridge and work it out for yourself.

Milk

Milk is sold by the gallon and has 1760 Cal per gallon. That works out to 22.9 mpg of milk

Gatorade

Gatorade (according to the bottle I have in the fridge) has 50 Cal per serving. A serving is 8oz. There are 16 servings of Gatorade in a gallon. This means that a gallon of Gatorade has 800 cal. That works out to 10.4 mpg of Gatorade.

Sweet Tea

This is how I make my sweet tea….about 1 cup of sugar in 1/2 gallon. So, that means 2 cups per gallon. According to dietitian.com, table sugar has 16 Cal. per teaspoon. There are 48 tsp in a cup. That works out to 96 tsp in 2 cups. That equals 1536 Cal. So, I would get 20 mpg of sweet tea.

Pizza

I know, pizza doesn't come in gallons, but I'm having one for dinner. a Large Pizza Hut Meat Lovers. According to Pizza Hut.com my pizza has 320 Cal/slice. It looks like there were 16 slices total. That means the whole pie has 5120 Cal. That means I would get 66.7 miles per pizza.

Well, I haven't been keeping my blog up like I should. Anyway, here are some ride stats:

Ride Stats:
Distance: 20.1 mi
Time: 1 hr 15 min
Avg. Speed: 15.9 mph
Cal. Expended: 1655 (apx)

Ride Stats:
Distance: 32.6 mi
Time: 2 hr 9 min
Avg. Speed: 15.0 mph
Cal. Expended: 2500 (apx)

Here is an interesting story….I have been locking my bike up in a generic bike rack by the YMCA. ALWAYS when I lock my bike, I run the chain through the front tire, through the frame, and through the rear tire. That way, all the parts of my bike are locked up. Oh, I also take my seat with me too. Anyway, the other day, I went outside and the quickreleases were all undone on my bike. It was off the tires and everything. It looks like someone tried to steal my bike and they were thwarted by my method of locking. So, learn…always lock all parts of your bike so everythin is secure.

Yes, I have still been riding my bike. I went Friday, Monday, and this morning. Stats are missing from Friday and Monday. Yesterday, I had some issues with my bike so my ride was cut short. When I went to the boke shop, my axle was bent, so I had to get a new wheel. I had been having issues with my freewheel, so I had the guy put a new one of those on too. Here are the stats from today's ride:

Ride Stats:
Distance: 20.7 mi
Time: 1 hr 20 min
Avg. Speed: 15.5 mph
Cal. Expended: 1667 (apx)

Well, I think my riding is catching up with me. I rode this morning and had a rough time of it (I think the stats reflect that too). I'm going to ride tomorrow morning then I'll take a break till Monday. I'm going to ride the Metro into DC and look at the US' capitol tomorrow. Sunday, I plan on attending Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

Ride Stats:
Distance: 18.4 mi
Time: 1 hr 12 min
Avg. Speed: 15.3 mph
Cal. Expended: 1457 (apx)

The weather finally broke today. It was great! I extended my ride this evening since I didn't ride yesterday evening or this morning. Below are the stats.

Ride Stats:
Distance: 30.5 mi
Time: 1 hr 59 min
Avg. Speed: 15.4 mph
Cal. Expended: 2443 (apx)

I went out again this morning to ride. I decided I was going to do something different. I was going to ride hard for 5 min. then ride at a relaxed pace for 5 min. It ended up being a good workout. Here are the stats:

Ride Stats:
Distance: 20.1 mi
Time: 1 hr 17 min
Avg. Speed: 15.5 mph
Cal. Expended: 1604 (apx)

Went for another ride this evening. At the start, I felt tired so I didn't know how far I would go. Below are the stats from the ride.

Ride Stats:
Distance: 20.3 mi
Time: 1 hr 20 min
Avg. Speed: 15.0 mph
Cal. Expended: 1550 (apx)