I just read a study that said post-ride you need to fuel with simple carbs and protein. The post-ride fuel needs to be as soon as possible because your muscles can uptake the glycogen faster. After two hours, you've lost the window of time.

When you exercise, your muscles use stored glycogen. If you don't replace it and keep riding, eventually you'll overtrain. If you seriously overtrain, you're looking at weeks-into-months worth of laying off the bike.

That being said, I like to have a shake of soy milk & protein powder or orange juice & protein powder.

BTW - on another thread we were talking about foods to fuel with during rides. I tried the pay days. They're great!!! They don't sit in your stomach like a bunch of lead, they give great energy, salt & a little fat for staying power. They don't melt too badly (I'm in Tucson!) and they're a bunch cheaper than the designer bars! I give them 4 stars (out of five. Mine was a little soft, but hey, Tucson in the summer ain't no picnic!)