Originally Posted by
achoo
I assumed a lot to show the crazy levels of RMR and sustained effort riding it takes to need to eat 6,000 cal/day - your recommendation to the OP on how much to eat.
Did you keep reading?
Yes I did read it all. You seem to assume extremely low numbers for both watts and metabolism. For example I typically eat 4-5k calories while training no where near that many hours per week. According to
bikecalculator.com, I burn 823 calories per hour on a fairly conservative ride (~20 mph, 0% grade, 244 watts). So if I did absolutely nothing but ride and lie in bed (which is completely unrealistic), that's 2,500 cal resting + (823 cal * 3 hrs riding) = 4969. I didn't recommend how much the OP should eat, just pointed out that with that level of work there is nothing at all unusual about the reported calorie intake.