Whereas I am the opposite ... I have naturally big calf muscles. It took a serious illness to make them wither away, and as soon as I started hill walking and cycling again, they came back!I think it is too hard to say what is and what is not the case in this way. Eg. What is to say you wouldn't have developed the same musculature had you been pushing smaller gears?
After quite a long time of having the same degree of musculature on my legs (i.e. not much as all, I am skinny), I did notice an increase in both mass and definition when I transitioned from the time trial season to the hill climb season. But who can say what that is due to exactly?
A lot of the time both size and definition appear to have increased when weight (fat) loss has taken place. It's really pretty hard to increase muscle mass through cycling alone.
YAY!Although I'm still getting slight issues, I've been able to reduce the discomfort to 1/10th of what I was previously experiencing. You're all going to hate my guts, but I'm 99% sure it was due to really uneven tire pressure and one tire being pretty deflated. But every stupid mistake is a lesson learned and now the only thing standing between me and fitness is my own dismal willpower. Thanks for all of your help guys!