I'm lucky if I eat dinner before 9pm most nights! After a good ride though, assuming I have already had dinner, I like a recovery drink. As others have said, you need to take it 20-30 min after riding. Right now I just have some whey protien from GNC that is strawberry flavored. It's not the best tasting, but mixing it with milk helps a lot. Once that is gone, I plan on trying Hammer Recoverite.

Whey protien helps reduce muscle soreness after workouts and just helps in recovery. It's not just for body buliders