Originally Posted by 69chevy

He was talking about the elementary definition of "work" in physics and he was correct. If you gain zero net distance, you have done no "work".

However, applying the concept of how far an object moves due to forces exerted on it is how to determine "work" in regards to physics, not "doing work" as we define in the English language. "Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result."

Applying the concept of work in regards to physics to calculate a total of net "work" done on a bicycle would be very complex and very impractical because in physics, there are rules regarding "work" such as "when the force on an object is perpendicular to the motion, no work is done". Since a lot of the force generated by the pedals comes from pulling the chain down while pushing the pedal down, the 3:00 position of the crank, by definition does zero "work"

There is also a rule about circular forces doing "zero" work because the force is always at a right angle to the motion. The force changes direction of the motion, but does no "work" in physics. I have no reason to rack my brain on this, because I'm sure through equations, a physics guru could prove that turning a chain does no "work" regardless of net distance.

The reason I asked if you two were serious, was "work" in physics has nothing to do with the word work we use every day. It is simply a simple expression to allow solving for energy or distance.