Thanks, Chuck. I did a little research after starting this thread and I can see what you're saying. A book or DVD to provide some constructive direction seems like the best approach. I do plenty of hill climbing when I ride, and I've certainly gotten better at that--to the point where now I'm actually inclined to do it as much as possible. Plenty of opportunities for that around here. It occurred to me though, that if I'm going to spend time on the trainer this winter trying to stay in shape, might as well take advantage of the opportunity to make some improvements--stamina, mostly--so that I can hit the road spinning next spring.

I missed my goal of riding at least 4,000 miles this past year thanks to surgery, but I did come close. On top of that, about 200K feet of climbing. I'd be out riding right now if it was warmer than 10 degrees. Correction--4 degrees.