Training & Nutrition - quad anguish

i started riding a bike to school maybe a month ago or so and it's been great. it's a short 5mi and i ride maybe 3 times a week.

there's never any soreness when i ride but the problem i'm having now is that my quads get sore anytime they're used. i dont know much about quad muscles but to me, it's not the same kind of muscle soreness from let's say a day playing football. it's more like when your leg muscle tenses up on you but not as paralyzing to the effect that i can't close my mouth b/c i want to scream in pain.

what i've noticed is that anytime i do anything more strenuous than walking, like hiking, they start to act up. it gets pretty disabilitating towards the end of a sport climb.

so the questions are, what is going on when this occurs? i realize cycling is the culprit but how come it doesn't affect my cycling? is there a fix? will stretching before and after cycling help?

related threads i found were:
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-60518.html
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-25789.html

Have you ever gotten muscle cramps in your calves from running? Is the feeling in your quads like that?

Could be short on electrolytes. Also you need more recovery time between hard workouts. Stretch before and afterwards. Give yourself 20-30 minute warm-up time before stressing the muscles. Do one more intense ride per week than you are now. Reduce the intensity of the other ones and get in one more much longer ride per week, 40-60 miles. :)

i've come to the conclusion that it's from a lack of stretching after cycling. b/c the leg is never fully extended or bent i guess it needs to be stretched out(?) thnx for the suggestion and hopefully i'll do a 40+mi someday

Yeah, stretching before and after a ride's is vitally important. I suspect you may be going too hard on your rides, slow down and do that one long day, it'll make a world of difference. :)