Not enough training?
I recently had to abandon my Tour of the UK (and am going home well early) due to my legs. My friend thinks its due to cramping, but when watching players on TV get cramps they all seem to be able to continue. My 'cramping' made it impossible to move for a few hours and then very difficult to walk for about 24 hours. Basically, on Day 1 of my tour, I developed a stabbing pain in both of my thighs - about the same spot as well. It came on very suddenly. I wasn't winded and felt like I had plenty of energy left in my legs, but this pain was quite...different.
We stopped and I tried to stretch my thighs to see if that would help. It seemed to make things worse and we moved down the road to a gas station. I'd been drinking plenty so had a another snack and a sports drink but the pain intensified. Bad enough that the only comfortable position was sitting down with my legs at a 90 degree angle (bent at the knee).
This took place in rolling hills. I live in CO, at altitude, where every ride involves more climbing over 12 miles then I would climb in 60 miles on my tour. My friend thinks its the gearing on my bike - whatever came standard with the Surly Disc Trucker - thinking its more suited for long uphills then constant up and down. He thinks I essentially pedaled three times as much as him because of the gearing but I am not sure. It doesn't quite make sense to me.
For those with experience with cramping - is this what I experienced? It doesn't seem like something you can recover from in a few minutes and continue playing soccer (which is my only experience with cramping). I am planning on seeing a physio once I get home to see what they say. Either way, its greatly disappointing having to abandon my plans - the risk of my solo portion of the tour being afflicted by these 'cramps' is too much for me to be able to do so.