A warning to all cyclists. Ensure you cool down properly by 'taking it easy' for a few miles at the end of your ride, otherwise you risk enlarging your saphenous veins in the inside of your leg which fill up after stopping exercise suddenly. This happened to me and now my veins seem to be permanently enlarged. This may be classified as varicose veins, although they are not twisted so I am unsure whether they actually are.

I used to ride for 30 miles a day, 6 days a week if possible, but only 3 times a week most of the time, while I was at college. I've now stopped riding altogether, instead I go swimming a few times a week and walk a lot more. For about the past 3 weeks as I've been worried about my bulging veins. To reduce their appearance I've been taking cold baths during the day and raising my legs whenever possible. Not easy when I'm working! I've also bought a pair of compression socks although I've only had them for 2 days so I can't tell if their working properly yet.

Has anyone else suffered from this problem? If so, will it go away with time, or is it more permanent? Also what have you done to alleviate the problem?