I agree that "long" is a relative term as it pertains to cycling. For me a nice long ride would be 50+ miles or so. A really long ride for me would be 70+ miles. For the randonneurs, my "long" rides are just chip shots.

Thus far, I've had good luck by taking a day or two off after a long ride, but I'll hasten to add that I'm still learning. Usually, any soreness in the derrière, legs, hands, feet etc. after a long ride is gone after a good night's rest.

At this point, I'm not sure of what a recovery ride is supposed to accomplish, physiologically, chemically etc. Perhaps there is good scientific/medical data to support the idea of the recovery ride, and I'm not aware of it (which would not be unusual).