drroebuck

On a long ride today (77 miles), I started cramping an incredibly insane amount, primarily in my calves. By the last 10-15 miles, I couldn't go more than 5 minutes or so without stretching. I figured out a way to stretch my calves while on the bike, so at least I didn't have to keep getting off. But whatever. That's beside the point.

My calves have always had a tendency to cramp. What I've done to combat this is carry two 750ml bottles; one with water, one with Accelerade. I have a recurring timer on my cyclometer that goes off every 12 minutes to remind me to drink. I typically eat a Clif bar before I ride, and on longer rides I'll have a gel or two and any other snacks that I pick up along the way.

My usual rides are 30-50 miles. On bad days my right calf will cramp once, maybe twice. Today, it started cramping repeatedly after 30 miles. By 60 miles, I had already pulled over a few times. In other words, had I done my usual 30-50 miles, I still would have cramped more than normal.

Three more things: knowing that I was embarking on longer ride, I was more diligent about drinking and I rode relatively easier for the first 25 miles. From 25-50 it was rolling hills; I didn't go too hard but I was definitely going harder. And the few times I went to the bathroom, including when I got home, my urine was clear, so I don't think I was dehydrated.

The frustrating thing is that even by the 60th mile I had tons of energy and strength. I had a tailwind, but was cruising (not hammering) at 24-26 mph on a level bike path at the beach.

And finally, I stretched throughout the ride, even when not cramping. I usually stretch before the ride, but have read some posts recently that it's better to warm up first, then stretch.

So, my questions:

What should I do?

1) Find a way to get more potassium into my diet?
2) Fill both bottles with Accelerade (which may be too hard on my stomach)?
3) Take larger swigs (which may be too hard on my stomach)?
4) Eat more before I ride (which may be too hard on my stomach)?
5) Switch from Accelerade to something else? I used to drink this mix stuff from GNC. It worked better than Accelerade but was disgusting to drink. How does Cytomax taste?

Sorry to be long-winded. Just frustrated and confused.

Dchiefransom

My cramps have always come for not enough liquids. Is your seat position right, the right height?

03FinestAL

I found that adding table salt to my drink mix (GU2O) helped a great deal. I was having problems with muscle pain and some cramping while riding my trainer. I added a few dashes of salt to the mix and the pain/cramping went away. Now I do this every time I ride and haven't had any issues since.

drroebuck

divekrb:Glad I'm not the only one whose stomach is affected by Accelerade. What else have you tried? Do you have a link for the electrolyte tablets?

03finestal: How does GU20 taste?

F1_Fan

Assuming hydration isn't the problem (it sounds like you've got that under control).

Are you riding with a cycling shoe? Are you confident that the fore-aft adjustment of the cleat is OK? Significant deviations could induce too much strain in the calf.

Have you had a history of back problems? One thing I learned recently is that pinched nerves in your lower back can trigger calf cramps. I'm recovering from a L5-S1 herniated disc and I went through 5 weeks of nasty cramping before the nerve pressure relaxed.

Rowan

Sodium replacement, then potassium replacement, then calcium replacement, then magnesium replacement.

Sodium through salty crisps maybe. Or mixing it into your drink bottle from the salt shaker. Or salt tablets (which may be too concentrated).

Potassium through salt substitutes available at supermarktets or health food outlets. the type to get is a mix of both potassium chloride and sodium chloride togther, so separate sodium is not necessary. Mix in with water, or just shake it on the palm of your hand and suck.

Calcium and magnesium with Tums or equivalent. Believe it or not.

Do you wear leg warmers below 10 or 15 deg C?

I didn't strike me until yesterday during the closing stages of a century when I started to cramp that I drink quite a lot of milk on randonnees -- and the calcium may be the Tums substitute. I also usually use an energy drink mix of my own that incorporates the potassium/sodium salt. Yesterday was deliberately a survival exercise on water, Coke and one banana, plus salt-and-vinegar crisps near the end. Many of my normal randon strategies were validated. YMMV.

squeegy200

I don't know if this applies to you but I though it was worth mentioning.

Some commonly prescribed medications used for treatment of cholestrol and/or high blood pressure cause cramping during physical exertion.

drroebuck

I'll look into some of these options.

I'm in SoCal ... I wore leg warmers, but the temp never dipped below 60F.

drroebuck

Does not apply to me, but thanks.

03FinestAL

The lemon-lime is not so good. I switched to the rasberry and found it to taste much better.

I must admit though that I don't follow the 1 scoop to 8 oz water suggested. I don't particularly care for the watered down flavor so I mix 1 scoop to every 6 oz of water instead.

I tried Accelerade for all of one container but found it too difficult to mix properly (without lumps ), and it was too heavy for my stomach while riding.

drroebuck

Hmmm. I've had this problem with two different pairs of road shoes, both used with Look pedals. But I would be open to adjusting. To reduce strain on the calf, should cleat be further up or back? I can also take to LBS for their opinion.

As you can tell, I'm willing to do/try just about anything to lick this. I was pissed today.

drroebuck

I use a blender. I'm sure clumps of disgusting powder didn't sit well with your stomach either. I'm getting quesy just thinking about it.

I'm going to try filling both bottles with Accelerade. If that doesn't do it, I'll try GU20.

03FinestAL

The heck with a blender! If I can't put it in a bottle and shake I don't want anything to do with it (getting lazy I guess ).

Rowan

Back. A trick used by long-distance riders. They look stupid to road-racers, but it helps relieve a lot of problems, including Morton's neuroma (better known as hotfoot).

CAAD5AL

I think the seat height question at the beginning was a good one. It's really easy to start "reaching" with your toes if you're a little too high. Maybe make a conscious effort to check if your heel is really down through the stroke next time you're riding. It's too easy to cheat if you check it sitting still.

Of course, I'm on a kick about seat height right now, after realizing this winter that I've been too high for years and never noticed it, so I'm convinced everyone has the same problem.

2manybikes

How long had it been since your last ride?

Have you been doing rides on the long side of your range lately? Did you go "harder" than normal for longer than normal? Or was it much more hilly?

Are you starting out after some time off or reduced riding? Do you have a lot of "base" miles on your legs?

If it was hot and you only had two bottles you did not have enough to drink. Did you stop and refill them along the way? The clear urine thing is just an old myth. It depends on what you consumed, some things change the color.

You also should have had plenty of carbs the night before and plenty at breakfast. Have breakfast two hours before ride time if possible.

I do think potassium would help too. I agree with more salt and electrolytes too. If the accelerade is hard on the stomach dilute it more.
How many hours was this ride compared to normal? Time and effort is a better comparison than miles.

CAAD5AL

Not looking for a debate here, but that caught my eye - while certain things can certainly color the urine, ie, b-vitamins, there aren't too many things that will make a poorly-hydrated person pee clear . . .

Lectron

Any Online shops where you can buy electrolyte tabelets? I can only find with carbs.
An alternartive is to buy the electrolytes seperate at the chemists.

Rowan

Just riding home and thinking more about my own problems yesterday, I think my cadence overall was a little lower, hence I was pushing bigger gears, sometimes into wind. When I consciously changed to a lower gear and spun more, the cramping would be held at bay. If I started to push, they would reappear quite rapidly. My cramping was main in the thighs, however.

bikerski

I may be strange but I must have salt on rides longer than about 50 miles. With me it was easy to know salt was the deal. In about a minute after taking table salt I go from screaming agony to no cramps. Would be easy for you to test this as relief seems to be almost immediate. My BP is always low so I also know I am not salt sensitive. The anti salt messages the modern medical people put out to couch potatoes may not serve the active swetter well.

Hipcycler

I had the cramping problems crop up suddenly while on a training vacation in Spain of all places last spring. The guide suggested a salt tablet to get me through and that helped. Later we talked about what was causing this.

He turned me on to a drink that I use in my bottles to this day, called Emergen-C. They have a web site....google them if interested. Anyway, the stuff mixes real easy and is not chalky like some of the others. It's got tons of stuff in it. As the pro guide told me....

Gatorade--no calcium--no potasium--good marketing!

2manybikes

That does seem to make good sense. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm just going by what I read, and it did not address what you just said. That's a good point.

socalrider

Drink more and a drink like accelerade can help.. Another item is called Medi-Lite Tablets.. I have a friend who we use to call the cramp master.. He was always cramping on rides.. He tried these and they help him, he perspires a lot.. Here is a link:

https://www.bikejerseys.com/medtab.html

drroebuck

Gatorade doesn't have potassium? I thought it did. I'm sure that's one of the problems. I ran out of Accelerade close to the halfway point of my ride. After that I was just drinking Gatorade that I stopped and bought at different places. That might explain the excessive cramping yesterday, though like I said I do frequently cramp 1-2 times on shorter rides and had cramped around the 30-mile mark yesterday while still hopped up on Accelerade.

Thanks, everyone, for the tips so far. This has been enlightening and I've got a ton of stuff to start trying.

Hipcycler

[I]Gatorade doesn't have potassium? I thought it did.

Some..not enough was his point.