Carbonfiberboy 

Endurance athletes burn protein. The more you ride or run, the more you burn. Therefore, whether or not you get enough in your diet depends on how much you do. John Salathe lived on fruit and nuts, so I'm thinking rock climbing isn't a big protein burner.

I'm also a vegetarian, though technically an ovo/lacto/pisco -etarain. I supplement with 40-60g of whey protein/day. I started supplementing when I noticed that I wasn't recovering as my rides went up into century length. My legs were sore all the time- acutely painful on the bike and always painful off. I started with the whey and the pain went away. Well, mostly.

So my suggestion is: if you're fine, you're fine. If you're not fine, you need to do something about it. Protein isn't magic. I don't know if it matters when you ingest it. I take mine with meals, plus a scoop with a good bit a carbos after a ride. Research supports that last bit, but I don't know of other research on timing. But it makes sense to me to always take protein with carbos, vegetables, etc., so you don't burn it for calories.

People put out a lot of numbers about the quantity thing. 1.25g/day/lb. of lean body weight is a pretty good number, I think. Only thing is, it's almost impossible to estimate the quantity you get from your natural vegetarian diet.

Mostly you build muscle by working out really hard. If you're not recovering from your workouts, more protein. You don't necessarily want more muscle. You want more strength. Not exactly the same. You have to drag it up the wall or hill.

And it's absolutely true that surplus anything gets turned into fat. So if you add protein, you need to subtract something else.

Edit: I typed grams per pound above, but I meant grams per kilogram. Big difference.