congrats on the new bike and kudos for all the riding you are getting accomplished.

my recipe for recovery rides are simply two, maybe three hours of spinning a high cadence (75-85) with low resistance. flats, no hills. riding a trainer in one of the low gears. a weekend group ride with the social folks ...

why? so you don't kill your muscles, but still keep the blood moving. 'specially after a race or hard effort it gets some of that lactic acid moving on out. i think key words here would be "so you don't get stiff".