Next year I want to take on a few new events and I don't want to burn myself out in the off season. These are not races and I don't plan to train as if they are. I plan on starting any "official" training in March. This year I did a single century and a double century (2 day). Next year I wanna do at least 2 centuries and two doubles (possibly one in 1 day, the Seattle to Portland event).

The problem for me with resting in the off season is I have an awesome 11mi commute to and from work that I want to continue to do 4 days a week throughout the winter. A lot of what I've read about off season recovery plans is about not really riding much or you risk being burnt out by May/June.

Anyone have any tips on how to balance a proper resting off season with ~85mi of commuting a week? Am I doomed to drive to work for 3 months? If so that would make me very sad.

I've done multiple centuries (3 centuries plus a 200k, 300k, 400k) after commuting all winter. Who says you can't??

Just HTFU.

I ride/work out all winter, and have done for many years. The only bad season I ever had was because I rested in the winter. Even having knee surgery in April was better than that. You don't even have to HTFU. Just ride your bike, go skiing, and do some strength training. I try to get in 7-10 hrs/week all winter. I just do slightly different things in the winter. I don't cut the intensity all the way back, either. I get in about an hour of subthreshold work per week, but I don't do much if any anaerobic work.

Check out https://www.cascade.org/ for free daily rides, https://www.seattlerandonneur.org/ for populaires and the Winter Training Series, and https://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/ for the RAMROD Training Series. I do them all, but nothing over 6 hours until brevet season.

1. 85 miles/week is "not really riding much".

2. Ride at a nice steady comfortable pace.

I'd agree here. I've only been cycling for a few months, and I commute 80ish miles per week on a fixed gear. That's not a lot of riding, especially with a geared bike. I'm still squatting 3x per week on top of that.

patient: doctor doctor it hurts when I hit myself in the head with a hammer ...

doctor: then don't hit yourself in the head with a hammer ...

all kidding aside, there are other sports / training options you can explore to take the place of so much bike commuting. but seriously that doesn't sound like a lot of bike commuting. if you make it through the whole winter you will emerge in the spring pretty darn strong and I don't think burnt out in the least.

ever try swimming? or running on a treadmil?

Sounds like consensus is 80-90mi a week commuting isn't enough to be concerned with regarding over-training which is good news.

Resting and adequate recovery becomes an issue when one trains a lot or does many hard efforts per week. You could do low effort rides all week long with just occasional resting days and be fine. When you stard riding/training 15/20hrs week you might need a specific resting day/days. But resting is also individual and is related to age, general fitness etc.

Unless you are training like a pro athlete your body probably doesn't "need" a recovery season to repair and recharge. For most athletes, its much more about avoiding the mental burnout of regular training when fit into the rest of your schedule. So, if you are wanting to commute to work, I'd say go for it. It will be a great way to maintain fitness through the winter and I find that when I commute, it is a great way to set me up for a better day at work and then relieve any stress afterwards.
If you stop looking forward to your commute, don't do it. I'd also be looking to add some cross training as well or maybe change up your commute route so you don't get to used to it. I think you'll find that by continuing to ride as well as do some other activity you will be well set up for your coming riding season.

totally +1
problem most of us have is we backslide during the off season. Our fitness goes away to some level, weight goes up, power goes down.
Then we have to build back up as we approach in-season.
I've found the biggest factor in my 'burnouts' has been the unrelenting early season buildup to regain the lost fitness. When I'm able to hold a higher level of fitness over the winter, then the spring recovery becomes less urgent, and I 'moderate' on those days when I just don;t feel like it.
Riding off-season is great, if you don;t let yourself get pressurized to 'train' all the time.
Definitely commute - it's a guaranteed chance to keep your cycling legs. Vary the commute riding, spin for sections, one-leg for a little, cruise for a little, no program just fun. Find/see/smell/hear one really great thing that'll make you smile for the rest of the commute.
I actually jumped in the car and drove during evening rushhour, last week. I was a wreck when I arrived where I was going - don't know how people can do it...
ride on

After commuting pretty often, I notice that when I do have to drive my car in traffic that I'm extremely frustrated.

Last month, as I sat in road work, all I could think about was how I could turn down an alley and get around all of this if I were on my bike. I think my 10 mile commute would have been faster on two wheels.