I was able to hit the 1% a week from 300+ to 180. Time will tell, I'll check back in :-).

Thanks for the sage advice :-)

I'm not a total newbie to cycling, I had a Bianchi premio in 1992 and rode 100+ a week and did a century back then. That was a 7 speed setup back then.....and the century was a windy one on the return loop,and I was wishing I could have shifted down a few more cogs :-)