ericm,

Thanks very much, as you said I don't have specific cycling goals to aim for although completing a century looks very appealing. My aim is to loose the excess fat and get my fitness levels up, so I figured just a matter of increasing how much time I spend on the bike. If i can tie that in with something like a century then that'd be fantastic.

Yes, the 40/40/20 split is very much from my lifting days, although i still lift its nothing like before so i can up the carbs to suit my current style now. I'm thinking something along the lines of 30/50/20?

I've got the 25 mile ride to do either today or tomorrow, i felt a twinge in my knee a few days ago so I might take today off and switch it to Sunday. a light ride today might be on the cards.