Quote Originally Posted by Glory View Post
I don't know anything about the Garmin Edge but those numbers seem awfully low. I use a body bugg and granted I weigh a bit more than you but I burn roughly 500 calories on an hour ride and a much slower ride at that.
I have a body bugg which is approximately accurate as long as I wear it on my ankle so the oscilator counter thingie actually works . I also wear a heart rate monitor from time to time

I think basically that it depends more on your level of fitness and the riding conditions (headwinds, hills, rough paving, stop and starts) than on anything else. I know that if I am doing a medium intensity, at at heart rate of 112- 115 bpm, (which is about 70% max for me) 15 mph ride in an average 10 mile head wind for about 1/2 of the ride distance, I will burn about 350 calories an hour.

If I push my speed to 17, get my heart rate up to 120-125 (80% max bpm ) in the same conditions, I will burn a good 400 calories an hour and if I do intervals with an occasional sprint it will go up to 500 calories an hour.

Obviously, since I am trained and prefer to ride distance and 3-4 hours at a time with no stops, my body has become efficient enough that I rarely burn more than 400-450 calories an hour. I am working on increasing cardio capacity so that I can ride faster(and hence further although that will mean coming up with some longer training rides) and at a higher heart rate and burn more calories, but I seem to be fated to be a max speed 17-18 miles an hour rider not matter how hard I ride or train. It is a little bit depressing but on the other hand, today on the elliptical trainer I managed to maintain a heart rate of 127 (85% max heart rate) for a full 60 minutes. Yay for me. By three minutes later, my heart rate was back down to 80 and at 5 minutes after the exercise ended it was back to it's normal 60 BPM.

My heart rate recovery is good and that's always good.

I just figure I do either a 300 or a 400 calorie and hour ride and plan accordingly mealwise.

I am one of those people who can eat a 500 calorie deficit daily and not lose weight, but that is a more a metabolism issue than a fitness issue. Undoubtedly some calories are sneaking in somewhere or I would be losing weight which I am not, just fighting earnestly to hold the line, but the sad fact is also that as you become better trained, your body becomes more efficient and the calorie burn decreases unless you increase intensity and or time. I am sort of at a delicately balanced point.

Anyway, do not forget to add in the miscellaneous factors, like wind, what gear are you riding in, the condition of the road, how often you stop, how long you stop, the temperature, the stress in your body and many others that I can't thing of right now. Evaluate your ride and work out an average calorie burn for hour and go with that. Skip the exact numbers unless you want to do a random check or need a baseline to change up your training.