Yeah, weight loss and more miles/year. Since you ride STP and RR, you must live in the PNW. Around here, your get your mileage up by riding long distances, regularly. Say a 40-60 mile ride every weekend, year 'round. Yeah, buy rain gear. There are only two types of riders in the PNW: the wet and the weak. Cascade has free group rides. Ride them. Misery loves company. If you do a 60 mile ride and two 20 mile training rides during the week, that's 5200 miles/year right there. That's how it's done and all you need. In winter in the PNW I ride a little shorter on the weekends but make up for it with more frequent indoor roller rides and strength training at the gym. Yeah, you have to have a trainer or better, a set of resistance rollers. Spend the money. The payback is immense.

I'm not a talented rider, just well trained, but I rode STP in 11:55 in my late 50s, and RR in 9:30 in my early 60s. Last year I had bib #10 and finished in under 12 hrs, 10:17 in the saddle. (that's ~1:45 stopped, how you get your LD times down.) I was sick, hope to do better this year.

I have a 6'7" riding buddy, also with a custom bike - a Ti bike. It's a full-on road bike with clip-on aerobars and 700c wheels running fast tires. He's a very strong rider, in his 60s, rode the last PBP, probably weighs about 215. We run our tandem - 285 lb. team - on 28mm Conti 4000IIs tires, which measure 32mm on our 23mm rims. That's the sort of tire you want. We don't run latex tubes in them.

You lose weight by being pretty hungry for an hour or so before you eat. That's the bad news. The good news is that as you decrease portion sizes, your body and hunger adapt to them. Weigh yourself every day on an accurate scale and try to lose ~1 lb./week.More that than and you'll be doing an unsustainable diet. Don't diet, just eat less. No soda at all. Little sugar. Look for places you can cut calories and cut them. Eliminate stuff that's not part of a a healthy meal. Throw out any candy, cookies, and soft drinks, even the diet ones. No alcohol. Never have ice cream in the freezer. Eliminate temptation. Accept that it's a long term plan and will take years to get the results you want. It's a long life. Take advantage of that.

Hope to see you on the course this year. Ride the hell out of that bike.

One thing I'd like to mention: a few years ago I was on a group ride in the Park We came up Cayuse Pass from the north side, from the Deli Stop. We took a short break at the pass. As we stood there, a very, very large woman came up from the south side on an MTB, pedaling away. I have to say, I've never felt more respect for a person in my life.