Today I went on a ride and noticed a tense sensation in my thigh. The outer muscle right above the knee. I am not sure why but I was feeling really good and ended up doing over 100 miles. On my way back home with 30 or so miles left to go; that muscle started to hurt really bad. Towards the end of my ride I could barely even pedal. The pain was so intense I almost had to walk home.

Anyone experience this pain before?

I was planning on doing a recovery ride tomorrow but I can't see this muscle feeling any better by then.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

And this wasn't a cramp? Sounds like a cramp.

Never felt anything similar to what you're describing, but if I did, I would definitely not ride the following day, especially having just ridden 100 miles. A "recovery ride" would still stress your legs.

Definitely sounds like a cramp and yes, I've had them bad. For me, they go away when I stop riding but some folks report that their leg will seize up hours after they quit.

There are roughly 800 opinions on how to prevent cramps, pick one and try it.

If it was a cramp, I'd say it was a mild one.
Every time a muscle has cramped on me, I HAD to STOP (not almost stop) whatever I was doing that was causing it.

I don't think it was a cramp. I've had cramps in my calves and couldn't even move from the pain. This was a sharp burning pain that I was able to push through. But barely. The more research I've done online looks like I might have pulled the muscle. I recently changed saddles and wonder if it was a bit too high putting stress on that muscle.