Originally Posted by Devoidarex
Perhaps on my days off, I can ride and ride and ride. However, during work days, this isn't an option. This is why I'm trying to get a ballpark answer as to how long I should expect to put into a ride (or keep my HR in the target zone) in order to get a decent benefit from it.
At the bottom of
THIS page (on Bicycling Magazine's website), there is a calculator where you can input your time, intensity of ride, and body weight in order to get an approximate number of calories burned... very helpful. Try putting in data for an hour ride at the intensity you fell comfortable with, and see if that's acceptable for you, remembering that a pound of fat = 3600 calories.
After you know the numbers, it's just up to your goals, and the lifestyle that this cycling is a part of.