Name: Jesse Hamann

Age: 28

Occupation: Mental health specialist

Hometown: Seattle

Start Weight: 325 pounds

End Weight: 275 pounds

Time Cycling: 2 years

About 5 years ago, I reached a high of about 325 pounds. Then, in 2016, I summoned the courage to step on a scale again. After a few weeks on the paleo diet, I felt significantly lighter, so I guessed I would be under 300 pounds. But when I stepped on the scale, I was flabbergasted: I was 315 pounds.

Feeling defeated, I told myself that I wouldn’t step back on a scale again. I would only go by how I was feeling. The ultimate goal was to feel better, not reach a certain number. But I still wanted to lose weight, so I turned to the bike.

Seattle has had a strong bike culture for a long time, and a lot of my friends have been riding for years. There was an appeal there that I couldn’t explain; maybe it was the sense of freedom that cyclists seemed to experience. That, and all of the cyclists around my neighborhood looked like they were having so much fun. They seemed a lot less frustrated than being stuck in a car.

That was around when my car broke down. That was not good: I was still in school, recently married, and going between jobs, all the while saving money for a house. I started taking the bus, but I felt I was missing something. I felt disconnected from the city, never taking the chance to enjoy the sights, all the while hiding in my home from anxiety. I added pounds and pounds onto myself, and increasingly felt more insecure.

So instead of looking for a new car, I searched for an alternative: a bike. I came across a Facebook ad for a used Giant hybrid bike for $200. I knew that bike was supposed to be mine. I instantly shot the seller a message, and the next day, I took a trip across Seattle, hopping from one bus to another, reintroducing myself to areas I hadn’t seen in years, falling for my city once again.

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I met the sellers, a nice couple about to move to another country, and I took the bike and rode it almost all the way home, remembering times as a child in my old neighborhood, living care-free while riding from house to house. I got a flat as soon as I got home, but my God, did I have fun.

I then went to a local bike shop, which became my go-to, and got it fixed and maintained. I rode it about every day that first month after it came out of the shop, excited to hit the roads. Eventually, I expanded out of my neighborhood to other parts of Seattle.

But I was crashing repeatedly. Nothing bad, but enough for me to linger and have second thoughts about riding. And a few months in, the front of my bike got caught in a streetcar track, and I flew off the front. My bike was ruined, and I was scraped and bloodied. So I gave up biking for awhile, opting to taking the bus and transit system around town. I was devastated.

As I took the bus though, I started gaining weight again. I could feel myself getting heavier.

So later in 2016, I purchased a new Hybrid Kona. It was like nothing I rode before. The fit was great, and it felt like I was riding on clouds, compared the old steel I was riding before. I got it the same day I saw it, and I’ve been riding it since.

I crashed and ruined it in early 2017 and took another break, but eventually had it fixed later that year. This year, I’ve been riding it consistently—and loving it.

Over the entire time I’ve been cycling, my weight has fluctuated, but most of my weight loss took place this summer on longer rides to new places and tackling Seattle’s worst hills.

What has also helped is hitting the gym for strength training and following a stricter diet. My wife and I were used to eating takeout or frozen pizza every night. I started to feel sluggish, my sex drive went down, and I felt like a shell of what I used to be. I couldn’t fit into my old clothes anymore, and cried when I couldn’t find my size in stores anymore.

So we started to cook. Cooking is a chore, but the feeling of eating right is like nothing else. I feel like I have a pep in my step when I eat my veggies and protein.

With all of this, I think I am down to 275 pounds. I stopped weighing myself back in 2016, but the proof is in my clothes. For pant sizes, I started at around 44 or 46, and am now a 36 or 38.

Another way the bike has helped is with processing things. My grandmother just died recently, and I’m still in a little bit of shock. I usually take the bus at night in the winter for work, but got on my bike instead. It can help you think, and allow feelings to flow through as you pedal, almost like a washing machine cleaning and spinning your spirit.

For anyone who wants to go on a similar journey, all you need to know is take it easy. It’s okay to fail. It’s okay to take a break. This is about a lifestyle change, not a fad. And cycling will change your life, if you let it. We all have our own path to success, but just remember, live long, ride, and prosper.

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