I think that you need to cool down after you do a hard workout. I remeber during cross country (running), when we would do a "VH" workout (very hard...clever, eh?) we would have to do an extra-long cool-down, like 3 miles or 20-25 minutes of running to get the lactic acid. I remeber being tempted once, and skipped the cool-down...didn't recover that well.

I've applied this to hard rides, taking the last 15 minutes easy, just spinning, without much pressure on the pedals.

also, you do need electrolytes. they are important so that water stays in you...