we’re doing a challenge at work which is all about step counts on a pedometer, but it also lets you enter swimming and biking distances.

The aim is to get at least 10,000 steps a day. A miles works out at about 5000 steps. All good so far, and a nice positive thing to do.

The cycling distance entry is a little questionable though. 1km = 390 steps. That’s it.

So, if you do ten miles along the canal and back, you get exactly the same step count as you would if you went up and down snowdon. Now I know there’s some ‘going downhill = less effort’ argument, but we all know how knackering a techy down hill can be….

So my question is, what is a fair conversion for my km entry for mountain biking, that won’t feel like I’m cheating the system?

but some walking will be uphill as well and there’s no adjustment for that?

Just use it as motivation to ride more?

Tape the pedometer to your frame
Tape a lolly stick (or something) to a spoke so it lightly taps the pedometer on each wheel revolution.
Say you walked (a lot) and present the pedometer reading as proof

How about working out how long it would do to 10000 steps at average speed and average stride. Then work out how far you would travel in that time at average off-road pace in the same time. Should give you a distance for steps/riding over the same time, so you can then work out a distance conversion. Rough-and-ready, I know…..

Does seem a bit odd,

1 hour walking would get you 15000 (3miles)
1 hour riding a bike (slowly, at walking effort rather than a jog) 3900 (10k)

So about 2400/mile?

On the other hand maybe it’s deliberately weighted towards getting you walking arround at work?

GCC? Some of the guys at work are doing it (I did last year but found my level of exercise went *down* as I couldn’t be bothered to type them all into the stupid website!)

They reckon the “easiest” way to knock up lots of points is on the bike. Maybe you’re worrying too much about it?

Rachel

Why is walking in miles & cycling in km?

Not sure if I’m reading this correctly. Are you saying walking 1 mile is = 5000 steps?

If so, that’s a stride of 12.5″ or 31.75cm. Shuffling about.

I’m a lanky bugger. My stride at a decent pace is about 90cm. So even at 70cm average, a mile is only going to be about 2300 steps. Call it half of your 5000.

390 “steps” per 1km cycling sounds about right. It’s the 5000 per mile I’d be arguing.

390 “steps” per 1km cycling sounds about right. It’s the 5000 per mile I’d be arguing.

+1

First thing is that the idea of a mile taking 5000 steps is way out. That would mean that each stride only covered 32cm. Do you work in a circus

I work with short people ;o). Fair enough on the 5000 steps thing… that was my calculation – hence me asking on here.

podge – you enter steps for the walking bit, kms for the bike, metres for the swim – it then tells you how many miles you’ve done……

its the GCC yeah

I reckon walking pace is probably closer to 2500 steps per mile.

So at a brisk pace you’d cover 4 miles in one hour which would equal your 10,000 steps for the day

Quick google says that at 4mph calories burnt should be in the region of 468kcal

Cycling for one hour at 12-14mph = 792kcal so cycling at that pace for 35 minutes would give you the same calorie count as the brisk walk above, in this time you’d cover 8.26 miles (at 14mph).

Now to keep the math’s simple lets round that down to 8 miles which conveniently is twice the distance that it’s taken to burn those calories by walking.

So by my reckoning you should have to travel 2 miles on the bike for every 1 mile travelled on foot.

or to put it another way 1 mile on the bike = 1,250 steps [edit] or 777 steps per kilometre by bike.

[extra edit] By that fag packet calculation 10,000 walking steps = 12.8 km on the bike.

I’ve no idea why you would want to do such a thing or why you would take it so seriously to worry about whether it is fair or not. Surely the idea is to get fat lazy people off there ass and moving. The inertial challenge (both real and metaphorical!) for them is much greater and both the calories and mental stamina to move 20 stones for a mile compared to 10 stones is enormous.

indeed poly; as I say, its a good thing overall. I just wish it was more accurate for us cyclists.

Plus, I’m playing my part in a team of 7. That’s why I ‘want to do such a thing’. :oD

Some of us do Park Run . They do an age grading thing

All parkrun events use age grading to allow athletes to compare results. Age grading takes your time and uses the world record time for your sex and age group to produce a score (a percentage). This score allows you to compare your personal performance against other people’s performances even though they might be a different age and a different sex to you – the higher the score the better the performance. The scores can also be compared across different race distances – to allow you to, for example, compare a 5km time against a marathon.

Is there some way you could use the walking/running speed records and compare them against the cycling speed records and give yourselves a percentage?

You’ve got to love the British and their inability to let go of the imperial measurements.

Isn’t cycling supposed to be something like 1/4 of the effort of running? So you should be doing 4x the distance on a bike for equal effort. Or something.

That may be an internet fact that I remember reading, but that is usually close enough for this place!

I saw this on a poster at work…..

5mph – I think even Martyn Ashton would struggle at that speed!!

DrP

Don’t know what you do for a job, but are your company saying its ok to walk round the office all day?

pretty much

Don’t know what you do for a job, but are your company saying its ok to walk round the office all day?

pretty much

A factory I visited in Holland a few years ago had a office with desks and computer terminals that raised or lowered to allow everyone to stand or sit. I don’t remember any blobbies in that office.

Calorie Count website gives:
274 calories an hour at 3mph on firm surface
544 calories an hour for moderate (10ish mph) effort cycling

Using these figures, my calculations suggest that walking a distance burns 1.7x the calories burned cycling the same distance. More calculations with your 5000 steps per mile then give me an equivalent of 2941 steps per mile cycled.

I’m an apprentice mathemagician though, so my calculations could all be pish.