something like 50-80 % of the energy we use (it depends on how active you are,) is used for just sustaining life (AKA your base metabolic rate.)
humans convert a bit less than 50% of the food-energy into a form we actually use- glucose. even though bicycles themselves are fairly efficient with the power put into them, humans themselves are not all that efficient. as for most effecient animals, that would probably be something like an albatross, which extracts energy from the wind to fly. (Specifically using a technique known as ridge lift. in the R/C world, the speed record is 548mph or so- set by a glider using similar techniques, and albatrosses can cross entire oceans.)
something like 50-80 % of the energy we use (it depends on how active you are,) is used for just sustaining life (AKA your base metabolic rate.)
humans convert a bit less than 50% of the food-energy into a form we actually use- glucose. even though bicycles themselves are fairly efficient with the power put into them, humans themselves are not all that efficient. as for most effecient animals, that would probably be something like an albatross, which extracts energy from the wind to fly. (Specifically using a technique known as ridge lift. in the R/C world, the speed record is 548mph or so- set by a glider using similar techniques, and albatrosses can cross entire oceans.)