It depends on what you have previously trained or where you are otherwise talented. I had pretty good muscles from weight training, so I had to concentrate on cardiovascular conditioning.
Running, indoor rowing, inline skating, bicycling are what I did, and had to use a heart rate monitor to keep in my zone (otherwise I went too fast to go long enough (at least 30 min+warming up+cooling down+stretching)).
You don't need that much muscle to ride, just loose the fat (if you have any), get fit, and work on those areas that get tired when you ride (often forearms).