I have been lurking on here for quite some time, but am new to the board. It seems like I have so many questions but have not had much luck running down the answers. So, as you gals always seem to have multiple answers, I decided to de-lurk and see what I could come up with.

My main problem is just how to get started. I started cycling about 3 years ago with my husband. Got myself a new Cannondale Road Warrior 2 (which I adore, by the way). I basically just followed him and tried to keep up and my endurance built to the point that we were doing about 28 miles. Steady pace. Then, it got cold. I got lazy and fatter. And I just haven't been able to get my mojo back.

I decided to start riding in earnest recently and hopped on the trusty Road Warrior last Friday for about a 2.5 mile jaunt. I thought I was having a heart attack when I got home and was pretty sure I was going to have permanent damage to my crotch where my husband had adjusted my seat when he was riding my bike. I am entirely out of shape and am SICK of it.

Finally, the whole point of this post-how do I start? I know that probably sounds like a really stupid question. I've got to do some riding by myself and can't just follow my husband around. (Besides, he is into mountian biking now anyway). Do I set a goal for an amount of time? Distance? Do I ride til I'm coughing up blood and seeing double? I need some guidance here, girls.

Thanks....Dana

P.S.....I did look up some training programs on the internet, but I don't really see myself doing a triathlon in the next 3 months. Ideally, I would like to be able to do a fairly easy ride (30 miles) that I found in North Carolina. It's about 5 months from now, so I thought that didn't seem too unreasonable.