Free Beer?

Pretty soon I am going to start school again. My commute will be 10 miles each way. This got me thinking.

I found a chart put out by Wisconsin's Department of Health and Family Services that lists calorie expenditure of various activities per hour. The chart tops out at 190 lbs and I currently weigh somewhere around 235. According to this chart at a moderate effort (defined as 12-13.9MPH) a 190lb man will expend 690 calories per hour riding a bicycle.

I have done a couple test rides to campus and back and so far I seem to average around 50 minutes to travel the 10 miles each way. That gives me a pace of 12MPH. So one hour and forty minutes of exercise at this effort comes out to (1.67hrs * 690calories=) 1150 calories expended during a days commute.

Another interesting figure I came across is the IRS Standard Mileage Rate. This is the number that the IRS calculated as the cost of a vehicle per mile based on assumptions of maintenance, fuel, insurance and so on. The current number for 2012 is $0.55 per mile. So my 20 mile commute each day would cost me $11.00 if I were driving.

Is it any coincidence that a 6-pack of New Belgium Amber Ale costs $10.00 and contains 960 calories?

Not only could I drink a sixer every night and come out ahead on calories, but in fact, every month I would lose over a pound of fat and have saved $20.00. Now there's a reason to ride your bike. Free beer in both calories and cost.