I've found the ONLY way to lose weight, for me, is to keep track of calories. I use myfitnesspal (app and online), I set it for 1lb/week loss, and THEN I aim for 400 calories left at each day, because I don't trust their calories burned, nor do I fully trust I know exactly how much I ate. Doing this, I can lose 1-2lbs/week.
I've lost 24lbs so far since Feb when I bought a scale, and finally I can actually be more lax on weekends, I still exercise but I don't really count calories too close. I still watch what I eat, but I'm not overly crazy on those two days. If I've been lazy I keep count...
As far as cycling? Its a way to burn calories. But you can't out-ride a bad diet. I've proven this for years... I weight less than I did 11 years ago, and I was in pretty decent shape back then!
Calories in < calories out. Weight loss will result. The cycling, kayaking, hiking, fishing, etc are just fun ways to keep the calories out number high
