General Cycling Discussion - Gramps got Cramps......

Tonight while chasing the Amazons, I experienced something I have never had to deal with before. Ya' know that muscle to the inside of your knee that I never had till I started cycling and we are all so proud of? Well I started cramping in my left one.....
My question is, how do you handle this while on a ride? Do you.....
1) Stop and rub/stretch it out? (while guzzling water)
2) Ease up and soft pedal (while guzzling water)
3) Some other method.....

For me it seemed to work best to soft pedal (All the way home.) *sigh* The Amazons got away.... again. :(

take a week off.. and also stretch after every time ya ride.

take a week off.. and also stretch after every time ya ride.

Say what????? A week? For a cramp? It's got till morning....... I'm ridin' to work!

drink more water...most (but certainly not all) cramps are caused by dehydration.

Tonight while chasing the Amazons, I experienced something I have never had to deal with before. Ya' know that muscle to the inside of your knee that I never had till I started cycling and we are all so proud of? Well I started cramping in my left one.....
My question is, how do you handle this while on a ride? Do you.....
1) Stop and rub/stretch it out? (while guzzling water)
2) Ease up and soft pedal (while guzzling water)
3) Some other method.....

For me it seemed to work best to soft pedal (All the way home.) *sigh* The Amazons got away.... again. :(

Vitamin E, boyfriend. Now gimme a smooch!

:love:

I thought it was K.

I thought it was partially a Potassium deficiency. Coleen used to get leg cramps regularly and our doctor had her take it. Now, she never gets leg cramps.

i'd apply gently pressure and rub. not sure if water will help at this point (water can prevent cramping, but as a curative??)

**if you are riding in the cold air, make sure your knees are covered <i think the CW is 50 degrees or below to cover your knees.
if it never happened before so maybe it was an isolated event (lack of nutritional support prior to your ride, not keeping up with fluids because its not hot yet)

as they say, if you wait till you're thirsty to drink....its too late.

Drink plenty of water during the day before going out for the after work ride.
Drink plenty of water while riding.
Continue to drink water after you get home.

Hydration and potassium are the main culprits. If you don't take multi-vitamins start. There are lots trace minerals that can aid in cramp relief, magnesium chief among them. Any good sports multi should do the trick with hydration. As for a cramp RX while on the bike I find that continued motion at a lesser rate takes care of it for me. Streching is better than rubbing if you're going to stop. Rub after the cramp subsides not during. Water, water and water. Bananas, tomatoes, grapes are great potassium sources.

There is also another type of cramp...from fatigue.

If you push past your base, a muscle can cramp. Theses usually go away if you quit using that muscle, and come back if you try to again. I get these if I haven't properly prepared for a century.

Salt intake as part of your diet is a necessity if you take exercise. A lot of people have almost cut salt out of their diet, due to health problems, but cut back too far and you will be paying for it in muscular pain. Another thing that worked for me was Isotonic drinks.