Bicycle Austin forum

Created a handle here just to post this.

It's a fascinating discussion, this conversion of gasoline to calories, but it doesn't have much real-world applicability.  If we are using miles per gallon (of gasoline) as the point of comparison (rather than calories burned), then the gasoline (or gasoline equivalent as other refined forms of oil like nitrogen fertilizers) used to produce crops to feed cyclists is what cyclists' fuel efficiency should be measured by.  It's silly to think we can get away without any environmental impact from our transportation, with the way most food is produced these days. 

If a person grew all their own food using only locally-produced compost for fertilizer (had a closed-loop system of food production) and hauling all their materials via bike, then they would be getting infinite mpg and could feel really extra super good about how they were living their life. 

As for everyone else, we're still indirectly using fossil fuels even when we ride. 

Hear hear.