Walked to the bike store today to pickup my new bike, which I had them assemble. It took me 40 minutes to cover the 2.13 miles from home to the store, and my fitness app says I burned 231 calories doing so. The time includes waiting for stoplights and traffic, as will the biking time.
Rode the new bike from the bike store to work. 2.37 miles, done in 16 minutes, burning 106 calories.
That's 8.9mph average on the bike, vs a hair over 3mph walking. One reason the bike burned so few calories is that it's downhill, 131 feet from start to finish. It's 216 feet difference between home and work. I can really feel the difference on the bike, less so walking. On the other hand, I chose my walking route to have less uphill. Google said that the faster route was 2 minutes shorter, but why be more direct if there's more altitude change.
So, the new bike, with a new tail light, new bell, new riding gloves (was using weight lifting gloves), and a new headlight soon. The new bike is more upright, and therefore more comfortable and also less efficient as the forward lean allows me to use more? muscles (gluteus maximus). It will be interesting to see my return trip time tonight vs previous rides on my old bike. Without the headlight, I brought a headlamp with me to work. I also ordered a cheap flashlight handlebar mount, which arrives in two days. Tomorrow is my early day, so I'll be able to ride home in daylight.
