Right now I ride about three-four times a week, in the Summer it will be more like daily or almost (I hope!!!).

I agree on the "how", up to a point. Since January, I have been following my club's training program. We have a wonderful coach, some of us are racing, others (like me) not, but the program is a good base to improve fitness. Anyhow, I have definitely improved over the past two months (core training also helps), but I also noticed my spirits went down a bit at the end of February. Training feels like homework sometimes (especially with the post-it notes on my handlebars!!!). So I just went on a couple rides "off program", as I felt, without caring for heart rate, rpms, whatever. I rode where I wanted to, and stopped mid-ride to eat a hotdog sitting by English Bay (don't tell the coach).

So I'll keep following the program for the next few weeks, but after that I'll be travelling a lot to places where I can't take my bike, so I'll be mostly recreative when I get back to my bike. (I'll try to improve the running in the meantime... travelling with runners is easier.) I assume that I will loose a bit of fitness. But I will certainly wet my appetite for the bike again and be ready for a great summer of riding!!