Thanks a lot, all of you guys... I ride alone and don't know anyone else who rides so I had no way of guaging my progress. Sounds like I'm doing fine, so I'm happy.
I should clarify that I only hit 160 when I'm on a hard climb. I thought it might hard, *prolonged* climbs but it turns out not as "prolonged" as I thought. Can't slow down too much more, though. I do about 60RPM in loooooow gears at about 5 or 6 mph. I kind of wobble all over. Much slower and I think I'll fall down! On relatively flat ground, I do maintain 130-140. Sometimes I just cruise around at, say, 120-130. And on long climbs, I will and do stop. I more or less have to, until the "pipes" relax a little and I can get air into my lungs again. I am definitely no masochist.
And again, yes, yes, yes, I definitely *do* see improvements. They came really fast and were very noticable for the first 5 or 6 months but seem more incremental now. That's OK. If that's how things work, then so be it. I always forget about muscle vs. fat as far as weight goes. There's no question that my body is changing. My waist has gotten smaller by 2-3 inches and my shirts are looser. I'm wearing clothes, now, that I put away and forgot about because they got too small (OK, I got too large).
One big positive is my climb home. It's a fairly short (1/10 mile) 6% climb which dips down a bit before starting a 400+ foot 11% climb. I used to have to stop after the first climb before finishing the second one (I used to used to stop after the 1st and once or twice on the 2nd). I don't anymore. That's a plus.
I will just keep on keepin' on and take the changes as they come.