I think of training as simply trying to become a better cyclist. There are a million different ways to define "better," be it going faster, longer, for more elevation, etc. There are a billion different ways to go about becoming each different definition of better.

I'm like a lot of you. I'm somewhere in between following a strict plan and just riding along purely for fun. Having every day specifically planned out would take a lot of the fun out of riding, but so would riding along aimlessly with no end goal in mind. It's like anything else in life- there has to be a balance.