How not to recover from a ride

Here's what happened to me today. I rode to work against a crazy wind, and home again this evening, 21kms, which put paid to the idea of 'just doing a recovery ride' after a filthy 100kms in yesterday's rainy storm on the Eagle Club ride.
Monday was full-on at work.
Tuesday, tomorrow, is a day trip to Geneva with a very early start, so I told my new *coach* Tom Newman, of Capital Cycle Coaching (www.capitalcyclecoaching.co.uk) that I'd commence my three month training block by doing the initial 10 mile time trial test this evening.
Ouch. I knew on the way home that my legs weren't especially keen, but at least I'd already re-mounted my Polar HRM transmitter to the rear stay so that it would transmit speed data from the turbo trainer. I did that this morning before work, which I thought was commendably organised for a Monday morning....
So you can imagine my frustration when it didn't work. Add to this the failure of the light bulb in my micro-spinning studio, AKA spare bedroom and office, and you can picture me spending nearly an hour fiddling with the Polar using a head torch. I re-mounted it in three different positions, tried an alternative transmitter and even raided my wife's bike for an alternative head unit, even though it had all been fine and dandy yesterday, in torrential rain.
Cool and scientific wasn't working, so we flipped the magnet the wrong way round, and hey presto, it worked - as long as the computer was placed nearby on a cardboard box, strategically placed near the transmitter.
So then I set off to time trial in the dark for 25 minutes having lost my warm-up, not being able to read the HRM and listening to Leftfield as a poor distraction from the pain.
It was horrible.
Av HR just 159, max HR 171 (against HR Max of 190) and I supposedly only went 11.9kms in 25 minutes, although of course this is entirely relative to the set up of the turbo and how much drag you've got going.
I've been here before. Rest is as much a part of training as caning it, and when your HR Max is off by 10% it just means you need more rest and recovery.
As for the Polar lark, I'd appreciate any insights people might have. It must have to do with angle of mounting, but in my long experience of Polar CS 200 (the model in question) - it CAN be finnicky with occasional mis-readings, unfeasible Max HR readings, leaps in distance and poor battery life in both the head unit and chest strap. But I love the size and simplicity and the fact that it does everything I want and nothing else, and that I know it like the back of my hand.
I am persuaded, however, that the time might be coming to get the Garmin Edge so as to have GPS too, and the capacity to download data to the coach. But for now I can't afford £400 - it's an insultingly high amount of money for a fragile widget that will be bettered by another model in less than 12 months. I would welcome anyone's views on this subject.