[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by dcb

and me on a bicycle (no fun showing up in a nice shirt all sweaty)

I was wondering about that. The reason we use P&G while driving is because of how much fuel the engine uses while idling, how energy is lost to friction, etc. Human legs are built and operate differently, so maybe it's not that wise to P&G on your bike. Of course, the only time I spin my pedals nonstop for hours is when cycling in the Tour de France, other than that I coast often to let my legs rest. Sure, human muscles tire quickly when used without rest, but then those muscles are under extra strain when accelerating again. What is going to get you more tired: holding a small weight for a long time, or picking up a big weight, resting, picking it up again, resting, etc.? We don't have built-in ScanGauges to check how much energy we are using and at what rate while steadily cycling and while P&G'ing.
The bottom line of my ranting is that I'm not sure whether P&G on a bike is energy effective or not, but I do it to let my muscles rest.