Vegetarian Awareness Month (October)


ible said:
bicycling is very efficient. probably even more than walking.
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I know that's the common understanding, but I'm not convinced it's true if uphill travel is considered. On the flat I can cover many more miles much more quickly with less effort on my bike than on foot, but on anything more than a moderate incline that's more than about half a mile long (which occur quite regularly in this part of town) I end up slowing to less than my walking pace I reckon. I do not have the lightest bike mind you, which probably doesn't help. On shorter inclines I can generally burst my way up at a reasonable speed but I'm panting by the time I get to the top.
 
levi said:
I know that's the common understanding, but I'm not convinced it's true if uphill travel is considered. On the flat I can cover many more miles much more quickly with less effort on my bike than on foot, but on anything more than a moderate incline that's more than about half a mile long (which occur quite regularly in this part of town) I end up slowing to less than my walking pace I reckon. I do not have the lightest bike mind you, which probably doesn't help. On shorter inclines I can generally burst my way up at a reasonable speed but I'm panting by the time I get to the top.
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Efficiency depends on type of bike and gears rider choose. With proper low gear one can be comfortably quicker on mild to moderate inclines.

Please also keep in mind that bike is powered by human, and on inclines main resistance comes from gravity, so the rides has to pull his own + bikes weight. So as the gradient increases at some point bike will be less efficient in comparison with walking. You certainly will have to make more efforts carrying bike to mountain top in comparison to carrying only your own weight.

But in general for mixed riding conditions riding bike will be more efficient compared to walking unless you are living in Himalayas or similar. Personally I like riding on inclines because that is surely followed by decline, which is the most fun part of riding a bicycle.
 
ZXDunny said:
I guess that's what you get from a bunch of tech nerds :)

"we might be able to start growing plants there" indeed - and what happens to the flora and fauna that have evolved to live in a desert if the desert simply... isn't? But no, let's discuss instead how to get that power to Europe instead. THIS IS WHY THE PLANET IS GOING TO SHIT.
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I'm not seriously supporting covering the deserts with solar panels. But I don't think it's doing any harm for us tech nerds to speculate about improbable things.

Walking or cycling movement efficiency is also a tech nerd question. In practice, the energy burned isn't just getting you from A to B, but is also hopefully making you healthier ;)
 
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