Need varies with your metabolism. You don't say if your sports drink is has a carbohydrate component - which could reduce the need to snack. The simple answer to finding out if a snack works for you is to try. Use a banana one day, a tuna sandwich the next - just find out what your body needs.

There are no absolute rules. Experiment to find what works for you.

Lots of ways. Just type "bicycle chain cleaning" into google and look for a method you're happy with. It probably won't make a huge difference, but little things can add up and help tip you over the edge to a breakthrough.

Just be aware that interval training is *much* harder. Don't try following one of the standard "recipes" without medical supervision.

Oh - the other cheap hack to make a bike faster and get more range: if you're using conventional platform pedals the replace them with BMX pedals with "pins" that stick out to grip your shoe. These let you pedal about as efficiently as the racing pedals that lock to special shoes, but they're very cheap. A $20 pair off ebay will be fine. A lot of the power in your pedal stroke lies between 8 and 4 o'clock - ie the part of the cycle at the bottom of the stroke when the pedal is moving horizontally. Locking aka clipless pedals and BMX pedals let you capture this.

More good stuff from you all. Thanks for filling in some of the blanks meanwhile.
OK, the sissy will watch for wx acceptable days and give it a crack. Especially the ones with no wind.
As far as the Ergon Grips, I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what you are talking about but I have the technology (the internet) and I will investigate first chance I get.
For all that have stressed and encouraged me to continue riding and to press the envelope, I am happy to report I just returned from doing the Tour Du Port in Baltimore. I signed up for the 19 mile segment but ended up doing 28.25 miles. Avg speed 10.1, pedal time 2hr 48 min, wall time for the 19 mile segment approx 3hr 15 min-2 stops). The extra miles were riding to and from the event. I stayed at my son’s house that lives near where the event started/ended in Baltimore.
Above and beyond the mileage; at least 4 of those miles had some horrendous hills compared to the flat lands of Delaware and although I had to take most of those hills with the lowest of my 24 gears, I did them without getting off the bike. Oh, and three of those “mountains” included some fairly stiff head winds.
Hey, this was the first organized ride I have ever participated in and I accomplished a lot of thing I thought were pretty much out of my reach. It’s a start. Thanks for all the input. Know that all of it was ringing in my ears the whole ride.

Getting a higher average speed can be easy, but I have some tips for you. First off people who have been riding 30-40-100 miles are in crazy good cardiovascular shape. They have been training for years. The younger you start the better off your averages and mileage will be. Also being an x smoker and depending on how many years you smoked can adversely affect your riding today. But theres hope!

I have found that by watching professional time trialists a good little trick they learn. If you really want to increase your average speed you need to get out of the saddle more often. I have seen that if they hit a small increase in gradiant or they are starting to slow down they get out of the saddle and get back to a higher speed and then try to maintain that higher speed. This has helped me a lot. Just peddling while sitting down won't allow you to get up to a high speed to maintain for longer. Gotta use those calves and glutes more.