petals (great name, btw ),

No trainer yet, the weather here is fairly ridable year round. Spinning is still an off/on thing for me, I mash at a very high cadence (90-100) unless I think "spin, spin, circles, circles" in the back of my head. I ride 200 road miles a week, commute, and mt. bike a little (which I am soooo slow at), have a female ex-pro coach, a flexible schedule (grad school), and a supportive group of Pro/Cat 123 guys to ride with. My coach's current "base" training plan is 2 recovery, 1 sprint, 1 interval, 1 hill, 2 group rides (one at "race effort") a week.

When I started riding, 30 miles at 16mph was a HARD ride for me. The combination of higher milage and group riding were the keys for me. Trying to keep up pushes me waaay farther than I can push myself, it's also great for bike handling skills!