When you are trying to lose weight, an aerobic exercise program such as bike riding can make a big difference. Besides helping you improve your health and level of physical fitness, cycling burns a lot of calories. MayoClinic.com says you should get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week to be physically fit. For example, you might take a bike ride for 30 minutes a day five days a week. You may want to do more when you are trying to lose weight. Knowing how to calculate calories burned per mile on a bike is useful as a way of monitoring progress toward your weight-loss goal.
Step 1
Measure and record the time you spend riding in minutes and the distance you ride. If you have an odometer on your bike, keeping track of distance is simple. Otherwise, you might want to follow a route with a known distance. For example, you can measure out a route using your car's odometer. Just record the initial odometer reading and subtract it from the ending reading.
Step 2
Calculate your average speed riding your bike. You have to know average speed because this affects how many calories you burn per mile riding a bike. Divide the distance you ride by the time in minutes and multiply by 60 to find your average speed. For example, if you ride 12 miles in 50 minutes, you get 0.24 miles per minute. Multiplied by 60, this works out to 14.4 mph.
Step 3
Figure calories burned per mile cycling. You must refer to a chart that lists calories burned for bike riding based on your weight and speed such as those at MayoClinic.com or NutriStrategy. Many charts list calories burned exercising in terms of calories per hour, so you may need to convert. Locate the entry for your weight and speed. Divide the calories burned per hour by your speed in mph to find calories burned per mile bike riding. For example, if you weigh 180 lbs. and ride 14.4 mph, you will burn about 817 calories per hour. Divide 817 by 14.4 mph, which works out to about 56.7 calories per mile.
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