Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
It finally occurs to me that your issue could be a lack of endorphins, the cyclist's drug of choice, at low effort levels. We produce more endorphins at higher levels of exertion. Blessed endorphins.
This certainly is an intriguing idea,. I did a quick look on the interwebs concerning how long the "runner's high" lasts. It appears that it's a few hours maybe a bit more under some circumstances. I'm talking about something that extends a day or more. But perception is it's own thing. Maybe if the endorphins make me feel better on harder rides, there is some tendency to feel better later, even if they endorphins themselves have worn off. Sort of the way sometimes it's best to suppress pain quickly to keep it under control.
Of course, this is all very subjective and it could be that I simply expect the easier ride to have less of an impact then it does. Therefore when there is some soreness from it, I think it is worse than it is simply because it is worse then I think it should be.