Bad cramping in quads after time off the bike

[BA11000]

I've been having an ongoing problem with bad to severe cramping in my quads after a period of inactivity.

I'm a daily bike commuter (7.5 miles one way) and weekend recreational rider. I ride both a mountain bike and road bike. Often, I'll take Sunday off after a long ride on Saturday. Some weekends I'm too busy for a ride and I'll get back on the bike Monday morning having not been on it since Friday.

Here's the thing: no matter how much I warm up, stretch, etc., my quads always cramp when I first get back on the bike after time off. At best, it hurts like hell but goes away once I'm off the bike, at worst, it's sharp intramuscular pain followed by soreness all day. By the following day, it's all gone, and riding doesn't hurt.

Any idea what's going on here? This seems really atypical for me. I do upper body freeweights 2 times a week and never have this sort of problem in any other muscle group.

[Leisesturm]

Here's the thing: no matter how much I warm up, stretch, etc., my quads always cramp when I first get back on the bike after time off.

'Cramp' maybe the best word you can find to describe your symptoms but is it possible they are not cramps? Could overenthusiastic warming up/stretching be aggravating some kind of deep tissue injury? One should not stretch cold muscles. Any stretching should be done after your ride, not before. How much warmup do you really need for a ride? None. Just start out at a reasonable pace and work up from there.

H

[BA11000]

I suppose it could be related to stretching before riding. I'll try riding without stretching next time I ride after time off and see if that makes a difference. The only reservation I have is that if it is due to injury, shouldn't I be feeling it each day I ride (i.e., Tuesday through Friday)? My routine in the morning hasn't really varied in about 4.5 months.