2 min read
When 46-year-old Megan Barto first began her cycling for weight loss journey, it started with a simple commitment: She joined her local town bike club.
What began as weekend rides with friends quickly turned into fun social events. Barto and her fellow cycling club members would go out for some miles, and then celebrate afterward with a nice barbecue. Rain or shine, the group would follow this routine, even setting up analog trainers in Barto’s garage on days when the weather didn’t cooperate.
It was this community connection that helped Barto embrace cycling as a means for transforming her health, and she’s stuck with riding ever since. “It was really about the social aspect of cycling, which I think it’s really important that people understand that cycling is a social sport,” she explains in our Cycling for Weight Loss program. “You make new friends, you can’t help but talk to people because you’re all out there together.”
Related Story
If you want to change your lifestyle and create healthy habits, finding a cycling group or friends to ride with could be key to kickstarting your journey, and building a cycling routine that lasts. Barto shares this advice in our new Cycling for Weight Loss guide, packed with expert tips on training, fueling, and other elements important for sustainable weight loss. Whether you’re brand new to cycling or returning to the sport after time away, you can discover how to build strength, confidence, and consistency by pedaling forward.
In the guide, you’ll hear from other cyclists like Barto who turned to cycling as a form of fitness—and ultimately fell in love with riding along the way. You’ll learn how to follow a training plan to progress your cycling, and pair it with smart nutritional habits to fuel both your miles on the bike and your weight loss. The program even includes advice on understanding your metabolism, safely adding GLP-1s into the equation, and pushing past plateaus you may encounter.
But what matters most when it comes to losing weight by cycling? Learning to enjoy the process. Heading to your cycling club each week like Barto, or linking up with friends on the weekend to hit the trails together, could be the motivation you need to keep on track with your health goals, and continue riding consistently in the long run. “It doesn’t matter how far or fast you’re going. Just go,” Barto says in our program.
Looking for a new way to meet friends and build social connections while also supporting your lifestyle transformation? Cycling could be what you’re missing out on. Dive into our full Cycling for Weight Loss guide to see what’s possible for you when you get in the saddle to improve your health, available for our BicyclingPremium Access members.
Get Exclusive Training Programs and Digital Issues
Ashley is Editor of Content Hype at Hearst’s Enthusiast & Wellness Group. She is a former collegiate runner at UNC Asheville where she studied mass communication. Ashley loves all things running; she has raced two marathons, plus has covered some of the sport’s top events in her career, including the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials and multiple World Marathon Majors.