Crosstraining is a very good idea. I use the "stairway to hell" frequently during the winter. My record has been 1.5 hrs in zone 3. That hurt, but that was a few years ago. Now I don't do over an hour at a time. Yesterday I downhill skied fresh "Cascade concrete" in the morning, then did a spin class, then 3 sets of 12 in the weight room. Feel good today. First Winter Training Series SIR ride in the morning. Only 38 miles and 2500', of course in the rain, but a nice warm 45° rain for a change. Our tandem team will attempt to hang with a tandem team that's done PBP twice. We'll see how that goes.

It's doing it regularly that makes the difference. And keeping doing it regularly. I also use exercise for therapy for just about everything. So far, so good.