Yes, I def do recovery rides... I tend to do them more easily with my youngest son who is just getting the hang of biking... but they are often short and tend to be be reps of the 1km false flat outside the house.

Like you, Kelowna, I have a couple of "challenging" (to put it nicely) hill just before home... so when possible I try to get collected - or leave a car so I can take myself home before the hills begin.

However, when I do do a longer recovery, it is hard to make myself go slowly, and if I have the hills, I just settle into a slow rhythm and pace myself up the hill even though I know that my heart rate will go higher than ideal.

You just have to work with what you have.

Its great you are including active recovery in your training - it is as important as complete days off.