It sounds counter-intuitive - "if you are feeling tired from all the riding you have done then go for a bike ride." Mmm, more bike riding ... how does that help? Especially as you are tired from doing exactly that.
But it does work. I've been exploring recovery rides in the last week. The key is to take it easy on the recovery ride, and that implies that you do it after you've done a hard ride. So yesterday I did 70km and well over 1,000m of climbing, and woke up tired this morning. Instinct told me to have a day off but instead I went out for a recovery ride. 20km easy riding.
Result - came back much refreshed and with legs rejuvenated.
Next time you've done a big ride fight the temptation to put your feet up the following day - recovery will happen quicker if you loosen off your legs with an easy ride. Try it.
Italian events and European climbs