Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
Perhaps I should have said, "If you are in good shape it is very unlikely that you'll cramp, while if you're attempting something harder than your usual diet of riding, it is very possible that you will. It's the difference between what you've been doing and what you're trying to do. If you are in condition to ride a hard 400k in the heat, for instance, it's very unlikely that you'll cramp on a double century. While if your hard ride is 50 miles with 50' of climbing per mile, and you try to ride a century with that same rate of climbing, you could cramp if you overdo it. If you understand cramping as a sign of insufficient training, you'll train harder and cramp a lot less often. I've never met a fit rider who didn't understand this.
Okay, I can agree with your explanation. In recent times, I only cramp (cycling) when I've really pushed/extended myself. Especially on hot days. I ride mostly in SoCal, and I have a hunch that bleeding electrolytes has something to do with cramping, although I can't say that with scientific certainty.
And when I played competitive soccer and lived in the tropics, the cramping was almost always after you've bled salt/electrolytes for a while. And to even add to the mystery of cramping, I do not ever remember my quads cramping until I started cycling seriously. It was always calf and hamstring muscles before I started cycling. Now, with cycling, it is sometimes all three, but most times just the quads and hamstrings.