Yah, I've heard of that machine. I know a lot of athletes use it since not everyone can go hang out in Colorado Springs all of the time. But that seems pretty extreme.

I live roughyl around 2,500 feet too, but as of yet I've yet to even really feel the change until 9,000 feet(believe it or not), and even then it isn't terrible for me. I'd like to think it was because I was born and lived in Colorado Springs for a while, but that was a long time ago. More or less, it has to be what I do concerning exercise.

I ride my bike 16 miles 4 times a week and go to the gym later in the day on those days as well. I run to the gym every once in a while and run once or twice a week regularly, as well as go to my dubbed "training hill" with a heavy pack and walk that up without stopping(1,000 feet rise in less than 1.5 miles) every once in a while. It's probably a little much but it works very well when I hit those higher elevations throughout the summer and into hunting season.

I will praise the bike riding to no end however. Last summer, when I was being busy moving and all of that, I coudln't do anything for my trip that would take me from 7,500 feet to 9,500 feet. So, about two weeks before the trip, I finally was settled in and had my bike and started riding it pretty hard for that last two weeks, five times a week at least. I was really worried I'd be sucking air when we were going with only 2 weeks of bike riding, but I was destroying hills the entire trip, even above 9,000 feet. But that's just me and my suggestions.