Pop Quiz: Gas Guzzling Cyclists
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA 
on 03. 9.08
Answer: C. A gallon of gasoline contains about 31,000 calories, and "Bicycles can travel at least 10 times farther on a given amount of energy than the most efficient car," according to Nicholas Goddard, a graduate of Duke University who decided to see just how far he could bike on 31,000 calories. He rode the 633 miles over eight days, eating a wide range of foods, including "two Gatorades, five ham-and-cheese sandwiches, a steak burrito from Cosmic Cantina, a glass of sangria, a quesadilla, chips and salsa, and a pint of beer."
Source: Bicycling.com
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Looking at the article, it mentions that he was 5 pounds lighter at the end of the trip. Assuming that's not water weight (which it very well could be) at least some of the calories he used came from his stores instead of food. So is the 31,000 calories including the energy stores of the body?
This is actually incredibly interesting science and I would love a little more research on this.
He was also eating 4,000 calories a day if it was all food. Nice.
Might a better question be, how far can a bicycle-sized car go on a gallon of gas? The current Eco-Marathon record holder is a vehicle that gets 12,665mpg going at bicycle speeds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-marathon).
I'm aware that cars are big and clunky and a bike can get a lot of us where we want to go with much less impact on the environment, but comparing a bike to a full sized car in terms of calorie consumption is a bit like comparing oranges and champagne -- sure, both provide you with some nutrition, but their primary uses/benefits are quite different.
http://students.sae.org/competitions/supermileage/results/
Check the 2006 results, UBC, collegiate division
3355 mpg with an average speed of 15 mph
We should figure out how to make engine that use engineered chemical muscles or something. 'Cause gasoline production is inefficient, and we might be able to engineer muscle type things more efficient that our own. Imagine 1000mpg on a passenger car powered by rice. O_o
Just a thought.
If he ate a vegetarian, locally sourced and bio-dynamically produced diet, how many MPG do you think he would achieve?
If he ate a vegetarian, locally sourced and bio-dynamically produced diet, how many MPG do you think he would achieve?
I've seen figures in the 800-1000 miles range, but I believe that assume road race type cycles, so the wider tires, upright position, baggier clothes, etc of commuter would lower it significantly.