ELI5, How am I able to go farther and faster on my bicycle than by walking, considering I have to move the mass of the bike, as well as the loss of energy to friction from the gears and wheels?
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Several factors come in to play here. First is the ability of a bicycle (free-spinning wheels in general) to take advantage of inertia far more efficiently than you can walking. With walking, the moment your feet stop moving you stop moving, whereas the rolling wheels will keep you moving in the same direction without additional energy expenditure. The same is true of roller-blades or skates. Though they use similar motions to walking, they are much more efficient.
Another factor is body weight. With every walking step, you have to lift and support your entire body weight on your legs. On a bicycle, most of your weight is “comfortably” rested on the bike, and you only need to lift the weight of your legs.
Additionally, almost all of the energy you put into a bicycle goes into moving it forward (This includes lifting your legs if you use clips or clip-less pedals). With walking, the only energy productively moving you forward is energy used to push off the ground. Energy to bring your legs forward and catch you from falling is essentially wasted.
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