Acid Test

When I was growing up and something wasn't quite right in politics or taxes  the 'old guys' would say' "it doesn't pass the acid test'. Now being a kid I had no idea how acid could prove a problem or question in any arena of life to be right or wrong. I just couldn't see it. Then many years later I  read a book called the electric kool-aide acid test"  (ya I'm getting up there in years to know this book) and I was really confused because I knew the 'old guys' had no idea about this book. This puzzle itched in my brain for years.Then finally I learned  what a 'bench mark' is and it all came together.
An acid test is what a metallurgist uses to determine the metals structure and denseness derived from a standard set of  protocol using a certain kind of acid. If you set a reference, or ground 0 if you will, making everything equal then you can  judge any and all metals and know that the outcome is a proven fact and not a guess. This method is used in all things of science, industry and now, for the last 30 years, athletics. It's called a benchmark.
As an athlete this benchmark is our bodies and our minds and it/we can defeat us or be the golden ticket to our best performance. It's all worked out in weight to work ratios and lactic acid thresholds and V02 uptakes and the like.  For me it is more Alchemy in that I 'm turning the lead in my a_ _ in to performance gold in my muscles.
My alchemical transformation has a benchmark of performance and weight and the target date in which to attain is the intersection where they all meet. The target date is May 1st  2010, my physical goal is 189 pounds of body weight; performance goal is cycling 25 mph over a 4 hour period, terrain and weather not to be a factor. My benchmark started as an ideal, a target I guessed upon, and now is a starting point reset every time I go out and do just a little better, everyday I dial it in just a little closer. The acid test will be if I attain these goals or not.
I know I had stated that I would have daily training logs, caloric intake and weight, I have not refined my day to that point...yet.  I do welcome news of your progress, the diet your using and even your bench mark, we are in this together.
Just remember one thing,  if i pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.