4 Comments

1. Reply

   des

   Posted December 19, 2011 at 1:22 PM

   Wonderful things, these Sat Navs. It tells us that Yiannis burnt 2978 calories on this ride. That is equivalent to several helpings of Christmas pud! So now you know, get your bike out after the turkey and trimmings. A bike ride with the Anerley will soon get you down to size.
   Just a pity that the Sat Nav can’t tell us how many pints Yiannis had at the lunch stop. That probably had a detrimental effect on the final calorie count!

   • Reply

     Yiannis

     Posted December 19, 2011 at 2:33 PM

     Very nice point Des.

     I have a feeling that this sat nav is exaggerating a bit, the cycling computer reported half the calories!

     The pints (2x mulled wine to be precise) would be my least worry. The kalamari and choriso salad at the plough probably covered more than half of the day’s energy but it was delicious.

2. Reply

   des

   Posted December 21, 2011 at 2:33 PM

   I agree Yiannis, the Sat Nav figure of 2978 did appear to me to be on the high side. I do not know how the Sat Nav arrives at it’s estimated calorie burn.
   I assume that your bike computer estimate would be based on heart rate monitoring and body weight. That is about as accurate as it gets, except it does not include bike weight, panniers, etc, etc to be lugged up hills!
   As a very rough estimate the following gives a guide:

   Activity (1 hour) and Body Wt. 130 lb 155 lb 180 lb 205 lb
   Cycling, 12-13.9 mph, moderate (cals) 472 563 654 745

   Assuming the ride time was circa 3 hours this is likely to provide an approximation of say, 1950 k.cals, which I expect is closer to your bike computer reading than the Sat Nav.
   But don’t worry about it, just enjoy the Christmas pud, turkey and a few bottles of ouzo. You will have another 12 months to work it off!

3. Reply

   Austen

   Posted December 22, 2011 at 3:06 PM

   It was perhaps fitting that the last Sunday ride of the year should end up at the same pub as the first of 2011 – The Plough in Leigh.

   Brian was our ride leader that day, due to Jeremy’s festive season absence. The overnight conditions were such that rather than risking some of the offroad bits we’d normally use, such as Nork Park and Chalk Lane, we took the main roads instead.

   By some quirk of fate, traffic lights turned green as we approached, almost until the end of the day.

   Upon arrival at Bocketts Farm, we quite literally chilled out in The Tea Rooms – they hadn’t put any heaters on in the barn. Fully refreshed if not warmed up, it was a pleasant ride along the banks of the River Mole before heading up into the country lanes towards Leigh.

   My toes had thawed out by the time we left The Plough, where we heard tales of derring-do in the PBP and LEL (Paris-Brest-Paris and London-Edinburgh-London, apparently) and the perils of cycling and walking along the South Downs in poor weather.

   Rather than The Hell of the North Downs (a.k.a. Reigate Hill), we took the gentler alternative via Merstham and the Coulsdon by-pass. And that was it for 2011.