Good for you, SD! Now that you've learned the whats and whys of bike mechanics and have some preliminary ideas about training, you can combine all with your goal which I presume is having a very fun and safe ride in June for the AIDS Life Cycle! You have a good amount of time to ride plenty of miles in advance, so that your training and preparation will pay off and you will be able to enjoy the entire experience. And be ready for an amazing experience! The ALC is set up similar to other multi-day AIDS with terrific support not only throughout the ride, but all of the months between now and then as well. You'll find plenty of resources to help you with the necessary fundraising, training, packing - in short, you're not alone and you won't be alone on the ride either. Besides meeting the fundraising commitment, take the time to train so that you can fully enjoy all aspects of the ride on each day. I think that Day 1 is a century or maybe a bit more in mileage, so that you want to have a ride of that length completed during your training. Also, since it's about a week long, try to plan also to ride every day for a week at least once before you have to do it on the ALC. Otherwise, it might be tough to get on your saddle day after day.
Sounds simple, and it is, but hard just the same. Just keep your goal in mind during those long, lonely training rides; you'll do it just fine I'm sure. Happy trails!
Mary