Here\'s a question for you: Wikipedia tells me that the men\'s 1 mile running re
ID: 46175 • Letter: H
Question
Here's a question for you: Wikipedia tells me that the men's 1 mile running record is held by Hicham El Guerrouj at 3 mins 43.13 secs. This, according to my maths, equates to 16.03 mph. Needless to say El Guerrouj is an elite athlete! I go cycling on my (not very expensive) bike most weekends. I usually cover about 20 miles on a ride and my average speed is never less than 16 mph. I am not an elite althlete - in fact I'm almost 50, weigh 100 kg and have a BMI which puts me well into the obese range. Why am I able to move at the same speed as an elite athlete, for 15 times longer - especially when you consider that the bike adds 10% to my overall weight plus lots of friction from the moving parts?Explanation / Answer
When an athlete is running his movement is entirely dependent on his muscular energy which is converted to kinetic energy. He should move his legs (which carries his entire body weight) forward and backward to overcome friction and gravity. But when you are riding on a more efficient resource like bicycle the expenditure of your muscular energy (only to accelerate or decelerate the bicycle which would roll faster and overcome friction) is relatively lesser compared to the energy spent by an athlete since mechanical energy of the bicycle is converted to kinetic energy.
The amount of energy which an athlete has to spend to overcome friction, forward and backward motion of his legs is more compared to your peddling effort. Hence you will be able to cycle faster than an athlete.