General Cycling Discussion - 1 Century down, ??? to come, suggestions please

Hi there!

I just completed my first century, the Dream ride century out of Marietta, PA, today. Had a great time. (most of the time) At a little over 70 miles we went up the last major climb of the day. see the elevation, http://www.dreamrideprojects.org/Dreamrideforlancaster/images/sweetdream_profile.gif
nothing for TDF, but for a 49 year old fart with a pacemaker, it was a good ride.
Anyway, on that climb my legs started cramping really badly, both the thighs and calves. I drank a lot of both water and gator-aide on the ride, and stopped at all the aide stations for food.
What can I do to prevent the cramping in the future?
I have ridden almost 1200 miles so far this year, with 115 this week. 70 last Sunday, 25 on Tuesday and 20 on Thursday with rest days MWF. Did I do too much riding before hand or not enough? Not enough liquids? (I thought I was going to float most of the way)
Thanks in advance for your input!

Good job, never mind the OF, much less the pacemaker! Here are my Scientific Wild-@ss Guesses on your questions.

Well, if your weather was like ours, today, the heat and humidity probably contributed to the cramps. Since you've covered the hydration aspects, you might check the nutritional stand-point. Potassium, calcium and magnesium are usually recommended. Potassium and sodium are supposed to be in some proportion (that I don't know) in the body. Sodium is in everything (salt). Potassium is harder. People usually recommend bananas. Most dairy stuff is a source of calcium, some people take Tums. Not sure about magnesium, leafy vegetables?

I don't think you rode too little this week... with 1200 miles in your legs, it probably wouldn't have hurt to have ridden a little less, particularly last Sunday, but you were probably pretty well recoved by Saturday. 20 miles 2 days before is about right, IMO, provided you don't push it too much.

Another possibility is that with the climbs and the motivation of all the other riders, you rode a harder pace than you're used to... in my opinion, it doesn't matter how well hydrated or nutrified you are. A good (too good?) workout can still cause cramps!


Hey! I may have to have my lawyers talk to you about your handle... copyright infringement! :D

Thanks for the info RoadBuzz!

You may be right about the faster pace, at least for the first half of the ride. I'll have to keep an eye on that. Do people take tums during the ride, or just before them?

Sorry about the infringement. Don't they say imitation is the highest form of flattery?
Buzz (since 1963) :cool:

Oops! Maybe I'll have to call a different set of lawyers (Roadbuzz since mebbe 2002... started out here with a different handle).

Your comment about training and being able to 'float' made me think of the Greg LeMond quote "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster." I think he's probably right... you just tend to ride to a certain level of exertion/effort.

I got a bottle of potassium pills at Walmart. Very cheap, seem to help.