Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
This. The OP reports leg burn. Bet it's just a quad burn. Activate all the pedaling muscles.
An odd addendum to all the above discussion . . . I am also a believer in specificity. However my wife and I just did a 10-day unsupported backpack in the Cascades, came back, rested for two days, then went on a 50 mile group ride and set 6 PRs on Strava segments on our tandem. Totally did not expect that. Strava showed about a 20 watt increase in team power.
As another one year anniversary new to the sport guy, what can be done to specifically engage the glutes and hams more while riding? I almost always feel my quads after I've pushed hard and recently lowered my bars for the first time which so far has increased my perception of my performance and hopefully working my glutes/hams more. I mostly ride alone or with one other much stronger buddy.