The conventional wisdom is that you need to cool down -- are you doing that? If the end of your ride is hard, you should add some easy spinning afterwards. By having the muscles moving easily, you get all the waste gunk pushed out. Or you could take the last few miles of your ride easy.

Today, I finished my ride hard, because I was trying to set a record. So, when I got home, I jumped on the stationary bike and did a few minutes of easy spinning -- just like the pros on the TDF.

Be aware that I'm just re-spouting the stuff I read here.

My DOMS often comes 3-4 days after a ride, but it is never so bad that it would prevent me from riding.