Training & Nutrition - fairly new cyclist seeking training advice

hi bike forum!
search is acting kind of screwy and i see a few posts about training, although this may be redundant on the boards im just going to throw this out there.
I am just shy of 23 years old, and i purchased a road bike at the end of last year. my roommates dad used to race and i have followed his advice, but im willing to absorb any info i can.
so far i have logged about 1k on my bike and ride fairly regularly now, 4-6 days a week. I am living in long beach ca, and ride out to the queen mary on the bike path which is about a 16mile ride for me, or down to newport beach which is around 30miles. i am averaging a pace on the low side of 17mph on my rides and just now starting to feel some actual cycling strength in my legs.
i am just curious, i really love the time i spend on the saddle and i think i have found a lifelong hobby with a bike. my friends dad said all i should be doing is logging miles, he called them base miles just to build my legs into riding condition. im not going to say i have accomplished that, but if im going to be spending my time on a bike i want to make the most of the time i am riding.
a little info about myself, i used to run and lift fairly heavily, i was running about 30-50 miles a week and lifting quite heavily. i was running 10k's in sub 40minute times with relative ease, and was routinely running 10miles in about 75 minutes(just for fun, never really pushed myself hard). at that time i was also maxing on the bench at 250, and leg presses were climbing towards 900lb's. i am 6' and at that time was about 145lb's. i have fallen off the training and am now at about 165lb's. im confident my body can adapt fairly quickly and easily. i am a student and will be going back home(santa barbara) for the summer and want to climb some mountains on my bike, my riding times are mainly limited by school, and work, but compared to most people i have lots of spare time.
now that my rant is over, how would you guys suggest to mold this virgin cyclist? for the record i really dont have an interest in racing, just to use cycling as a way to push myself physically.
i am open to any solid advice, and appreciate any given.
thanks guys!

Even if you were going to race I'd recomend that you do more interesting and varied rides. Since you are not planning on racing there is no need to do any structured training. Just keep in mind that with your longest ride being 30 miles, you can't go and do a 60 mile ride this weekend. Actually you probably could, but the last 10 might not be a lot of fun. The normal rule of thumb is to increase riding no more than 10% a week. Since you are young and have been athletic you can probably push that.

There's plenty of riding where you are ,and even better riding in SB. Go explore! Go ride some organized century rides, or with a local "touring" club (some "tourists" can be pretty fast). You might be interested in the KOM (http://www.planetultra.com/KOM/index.html)series next year.

your right the rides are a bit routine at this point however i still very much enjoy them, but there is still alot of room for improvement on my part. i still think i am a ways off from any sort of really organized group riding, but it is something i want to dabble with as a get stronger on the bike.
that KOM link you sent sounds like something that might be possible if i took this year on the bike pretty seriously. even if i was "ready" for a ride like that im sure it would be pretty intense, seems like it would be anyways.
im not saying i would never race but i would like to train my body in a similar manner, mainly in order to allow myself if i chose to challenge myself in with some sort of event like you linked. where i would be still enjoying the recreational aspect but be conditioned to ride with a well paced group or enter an organized event here and there. first and foremost im on a bike to be outside and to challenge myself, i track all the paramaters my comp is capable of(av speed, distance, time, max speed) and am looking for general pointers that would better maximize the time i do get to spend on the saddle.

Like another wrote, sign up for a century and see how it goes. Don't worry about "taking it seriously" just train and do it. The advice to build base miles is spot on, you will get base miles training for the century. You could also consider joining a local riding club, shop rides or something like Meetup.com. In Denver there are at least 3 rides every weekend on meetup and even some on weekdays when it gets lighter, later. You live in a great spot, you could get on mapmyride.com and find some cool rides. Garmin’s are cool too, if you have some cash you can map your routes, but I am geographer so this is my thing. Anyways, it sounds like you are hooked on cycling and that can be a blessing and a curse for some. Also, most people will say not to do intervals as a beginner, but doing light intervals is fun and really helps in fitness. You don't want to overdo it though, so keep it simple and moderate.

By midsummer you are going to be knocking out 50 mile weekend rides like nothing.