Originally Posted by
wolfchild
Warm up and stretching is not the same thing...The best way to warm up for a bike ride is to get on the bike and start riding. it's the same way with any other sport or physical activity. The best way to warm up for weight training is to lift weights. The best way to warm up for XC skiing is to start skiing etc etc etc etc...Stretching is completely useless for warm ups or cool downs.
Well that's lucky since I don't do any stretching when warming up. I do stretching as a specific exercise to maintain/improve my flexibility, but never as a warm-up exercise. I sometimes do a few simple stretches at the end of a ride (quads especially). I warm-up on the bike by riding gently for the first 5-10 mins.