u/Curious_Wind_1070

I started cycling last year because I rode a mountain bike a lot around my neighborhood park, but I wanted to go more intensely. My friend fixes up road bikes, and he built one up for me. I don't do any formal training and just go to a nearby trail to bike by myself; it's pretty flat. Max I went last yr was 40 miles and just started again this year. I'm also not a runner or anything. I want to get a lot more into it this summer, before I leave for college. I have a few questions:

1. Right now, I have one pair of padded shorts and just wear long shirts, but I want to get more gear, especially because I plan to go a lot more. Are jerseys worth it? I also only wear like running shoes (Nike Pegasus), do I need specific or a different type of shoes? Also are sunglasses good, if so what? Any other things I should invest in. I want to continue cycling in college as well.

2. What is a good schedule for going on rides to build my endurance, to learn how to go further and faster?

Please let me know if you have any advice. Thank you!

i was accepted to cmu as a neuroscience major but i have an interest in neuroengineering so i was considering double majoring as a biomedical technologies major with a neuroengineering track. what is the workload like? will i have time to just enjoy myself too? are there good opportunities to still have a good undergrad experience like hanging out with friends, exploring, clubs, etc? also, the whole neuroscience and neuroengineering is a conflict between an md and a masters/phd. i don't know which one i want to do, asking for some advice in regards to which one would be better and what the result/jobs would look like. i want to work still around the healthcare field but not really patient care and seeing patients everyday. what else could i do? it's also kinda important because i got into a bs/md (direct route to med school) and i want to make sure im making the best choice.

i got in as neuroscience major and i'm hoping to try to double major in bme and neuroscience so i can focus on developing implantable devices to help with neurological disorders. however, i could also just become a physician. either way, i'm hoping to go to med school because ive heard the phd route is just very inconsistent and heavily reliant on grants and that's a position i don't want to be in. getting into med school is getting really hard tho, i want to know if it's worth it to go to cmu if this is the path i end up taking. there's always the chance that i decide i don't want to do med school and focus on engineering, which will be fine then. anyone have any insights or is a current student at cmu going the pre-med route? please help!