great info and greatly appreciated. i ride a extremely hilly 23 miles every other day and did 63 miles last friday. the pain i was having in my back is pretty much gone in the last two weeks. i think it was because i always ramp up to fast instead of training for a few weeks. still have some neck pain but its much better to. i ate and drank MUCH better last week when i did the 63 and could have gone farther if i had wanted to. i stopped because i had things to do and dont want to burn myself out. i plan on doing 65 tomorrow or saturday again and will increase that in july to 75 an prob one 85 in august. frankly the 63 was easier than the 23 in the hills around here. there is no longer a doubt i will finish as long as i dont get lost and add 20 miles or have mechanical issues. i know i could do a 100 tomorrow, it would not be easy or pretty, but i could do it.