I seemed to lose inches all over. After a few years of cycling, a friend of mine says to me out of the blue, "So, how much weight have you lost?" I was a little puzzled. I had just recently lost a few pounds that I had previously slowly put on, but pretty much weighed the same that I had been for a few years. When I said a few pounds, she said, "No! You've lost way more than that! You've lost like ten pounds!" I could hardly convince her otherwise, and couldn't believe she really thought I had lost ten pounds. I started thinking about it and realized that my clothes did fit looser and realized I might not have lost pounds, but had definitely lost inches. Among other areas, my butt was a noticeable difference.

As for toning up other areas, you'd think your arms wouldn't get much of a workout on a bike, but I did find that when I was in more serious training mode last summer, my arms were looking much more toned. Standing on the bike makes you use your arm muscles, for one. My husband rides a ton, races and climbs way more than any human should. His arms have continually developed more muscles and gotten stronger and leaner. He is pretty muscular all over just from riding. His gut is his only trouble spot, yet they say a stronger core makes you a better rider. But that means doing exercises off the bike, and that just doesn't happen for me!