I decided a few years ago that I would ride Cycle Oregon the year I turned 40. When I turned 39 I was 250 lb and totally out of shape. I turned 40 in July, and I'm happy to say that I just completed Cycle Oregon - just under 400 miles in 7 days. I may not have ended up totally skinny in my training for the ride, but I'm happy to say I'm in much better shape than I've ever been in my life. Now I have a whole year to work on getting skinny before I ride it again next September. I've posted my pictures of the ride, if anyone wants to see
http://homepage.mac.com/gstahmer/PhotoAlbum4.html