Go Back   EcoModder Forum > AltModding > Alternative Transportation
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-05-2010, 05:31 PM   #1 (permalink)
ECO-Evolution
 
Lazarus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,482

Iron Horse (retired) - '97 Iron horse Intrepid

Ninja - '08 Kawasaki 250R
90 day: 76.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 17
Thanked 44 Times in 33 Posts
Bicycling wastes gas?

Depending on what you eat but here's an Interesting Article

From another forum.

The average price of U.S. gas is $2.66/gallon. We can go 20.36 miles on $2.66 in the average car, how far can we go on $2.66 with a bike figuring 10 mph @ 528 calories an hour.

"MPG of bicycling" (i.e., miles a cyclist can travel on $2.66 worth of food)
6.1 miles - salmon or catfish (farmed)
8.3 miles - Big Mac
12.9 miles - ground beef (85% lean)
16.2 miles - chicken breasts (boneless)
18.8 miles - cheese

26.6 miles - Cheerios
46.1 miles - potatoes
68.6 miles - peanut butter
70.4 miles - oats
81.6 miles - pinto beans
94.1 miles - rice (white or brown)

So if your food fuel comes from the items in the first section, it actually costs you *more* to bike than to pay for gas.

__________________
"Judge a person by their questions rather than their answers."

  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 02-05-2010, 06:41 PM   #2 (permalink)
one of thOOOse people
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: the cloud(s)
Posts: 293

twitchy - '98 honda civic dx + sir + ls
90 day: 30.2 mpg (US)

Norman - '14 Ford E-350 EXT
90 day: 16.18 mpg (US)

Silver - '12 VW Golf Base
90 day: 26.1 mpg (US)

Sparta - '19 Honda CB300R
90 day: 84.07 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 81 Times in 66 Posts
Although the basic math is correct, unless you are truly impoverished and starving it doesn't really apply. Who here can't spare a few hundred calories a day without adjusting your diet? I can and choose to use them to commute by bike.
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2010, 08:40 PM   #3 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Leadville, CO
Posts: 509

Maroon Ballon - '98 Chrysler Town & Country LXI
90 day: 26.42 mpg (US)

MaEsTRO - '95 Geo Metro 5spd hatch, 3 cyl
Thanks: 47
Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts
It seems to me that the comparison of those numbers apply only if you choose to drive without eating. I don't know many people who will make that choice.

I like biking, and I like eating, but when I have to drive, I still like eating.
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2010, 09:35 PM   #4 (permalink)
ECO-Evolution
 
Lazarus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,482

Iron Horse (retired) - '97 Iron horse Intrepid

Ninja - '08 Kawasaki 250R
90 day: 76.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 17
Thanked 44 Times in 33 Posts
It's not the fact that the driver also eats. The fact that the driver *burns* calories by driving is whats is relevant.
__________________
"Judge a person by their questions rather than their answers."

  Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2010, 09:49 PM   #5 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 389

2003 Ninja EX250 - '03 Kawasaki Ninja EX250
90 day: 78.57 mpg (US)

Saturn - '99 Saturn SL1 Base
90 day: 47.27 mpg (US)
Thanks: 25
Thanked 58 Times in 37 Posts
So riding my Ninja 250 is more efficient than riding a bike fueled by pinto beans.... interesting!
__________________
Doing my part to reduce dependence on OIL
Doing my part to reduce congestion
And enjoying it!

If you have to use your brakes, you are driving too fast!

My 101.5 MPG 2003 Kawasaki Ninja 250




Crude Oil Price Today
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2010, 09:54 PM   #6 (permalink)
ECO-Evolution
 
Lazarus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,482

Iron Horse (retired) - '97 Iron horse Intrepid

Ninja - '08 Kawasaki 250R
90 day: 76.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 17
Thanked 44 Times in 33 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by theycallmeebryan View Post
So riding my Ninja 250 is more efficient than riding a bike fueled by pinto beans.... interesting!
Heck of a lot more fun too
__________________
"Judge a person by their questions rather than their answers."

  Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2010, 11:52 PM   #7 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Madison AL
Posts: 1,123

The Geo - '93 Geo Metro
Team Metro
90 day: 45.16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 30
Thanked 40 Times in 37 Posts
I grow all of my food on my farm, with my animals that I slaughter personally. Your point is invalid for me.

Seriously though, this doesn't really make sense to me, at all. I eat the same thing when I bike that I would eat when I drive.

Last edited by MadisonMPG; 02-05-2010 at 11:57 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2010, 12:53 AM   #8 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadisonMPG View Post
I grow all of my food on my farm, with my animals that I slaughter personally. Your point is invalid for me.

Seriously though, this doesn't really make sense to me, at all. I eat the same thing when I bike that I would eat when I drive.
Actually, the point is still valid, only on a slightly larger scale. You have to pay for feed for the life of those animals, and care, so you have one more thing to consider in the "bigger picture".

Of course, the study has to consider the pollution created by growing the food that was burned in the act of bicycling versus driving, etc.

There are alot more factors than fuel in/energy out.

The point, however, isn't whether or not you eat, rather that you'd have to eat more to sustain a higher energy level for biking, for a commute, for instance. Or, you could drive, and save the extra food and all the fuel/crap used to create it.
__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2010, 02:05 AM   #9 (permalink)
aero guerrilla
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 3,691

Svietlana II - '13 Peugeot 308SW e-HDI 6sp
90 day: 58.1 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,269
Thanked 721 Times in 458 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ View Post
There are alot more factors than fuel in/energy out.
Like it's not only about pure calories, but also how they are delivered (correct ratios of fats, sugars, proteins, etc.).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ View Post
The point, however, isn't whether or not you eat, rather that you'd have to eat more to sustain a higher energy level for biking, for a commute, for instance.
Or keep your diet but lose the spare tire
__________________
e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be

What matters is where you're going, not how fast.

"... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell


[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2010, 02:08 AM   #10 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw View Post
Like it's not only about pure calories, but also how they are delivered (correct ratios of fats, sugars, proteins, etc.).

Or keep your diet but lose the spare tire
That's cute, but in that case, there is still excess that is being used.

What do you do when all the "spare tire" is gone? Now you have to start eating more to sustain the same energy level that you would have had just from burning fat stores, right?

So, when that comes to pass, the point still becomes relevant. You still have to buy more food and consume it to bike, as opposed to buying fuel for your car to motor.

Fuel for fuel, there probably are instances where it's actually cheaper to run a car, even if you don't consider the actual impact of each fuel source.

Remember, food takes more fuel to make, deliver, buy, and consume than fuel does.

__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How do you eco-drive a diesel ? groar Hypermiling / EcoDriver's Ed 122 05-24-2014 09:05 PM
EcoModding for Beginners: Getting great gas mileage. SVOboy EcoModding Central 55 08-20-2012 11:34 PM
Article: Crude oil is getting cheaper — so why isn't gas? Frank Lee The Lounge 20 07-14-2010 01:06 AM
Hole in gas tank mrmad EcoModding Central 5 03-18-2009 04:33 PM
What's your best bet for an automatic? Crono EcoModding Central 16 10-22-2008 01:14 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com