franswa

I made some cleat adjustments and brought them back a tiny bit more and no more cramping for me.

Colorado Kid

I've always had a bad time with leg craping. Doc couldn't figure out was going wrong. I took all the usual steps but nothing worked. I heard an old story about field worker in the deep South always had a sip or two of Pickle Juice after working in the fields.. It's been two weeks and I haven't had one leg cramp. Go figure.

Branko D

Hard to sort out what's placebo (which means it works pretty well) and what actually has physiological basis for helping...

That said, cramping happens more often when you haven't done the training for the event you're doing and that's supported by research and personal experience of many athletes alike. The only time I had severe cramping was doing a marathon without any long distance running (longer than 10-12 km) for months. That wasn't a very good idea, right calf cramped 2km from the finish, I tried running left legged which the left calf vigorously objected to in short order and I sort of hurriedly hobbled through the finish line 🤦 My nutrition was just as good as when I did it a year ago with proper training.

That said, if I'm riding at race pace in my water bottles it's either water with electrolyte tablets or water with carb-electrolyte race mix. Never just water.
​​​​​
​​​​​​It seems that much of it is luck of the draw. It's not known why some people are more predisposed to cramping than others, but apparently there are significant differences between people. I'm not naturally predisposed to cramps unless I'm doing something really way out of what I'm prepared for.

ksryder

I realize this is a month old but I haven't logged in for a while.

Here's my 2 cents -- stretching.

I think the reason there are so many solutions for cramping is because there are multiple things that can cause cramps -- bike fit, nutrition, cleat adjustment, heat, training, etc. And sometimes more than one thing is causing it at the same time.

I was battling cramps a few years ago and was trying everything nutrition/hydration-related with limited success. I started doing a 30-minute yoga workout on youtube for unrelated reasons and lo and behold suddenly I wasn't cramping. I think its easy as cyclists to neglect flexibility and fitness in non-cycling areas but for me that proved to be a gigantic piece of the puzzle.

Not saying this is the solution for everyone but it's definitely one of them.

sgtdirt

yep, i suffered especially bad this year. believe me, i've tried a **** ton of different "remedies" without any lasting results. i'm starting to lean towards: age, fitness level and fatigue. being in my late 50's, i am usually, by far, the oldest in the SS race category. although i train hard, i don't feel i train "race hard". trying to put in those power zone 4 to 5 sustained efforts during a training ride aren't cutting it either. another reason i think it's fitness level is; one year, i was literally racing every other week. i was in good "race form". by the end of the season, i didn't feel any potential cramps until mile 60 or better in a 65 mile gravel race. to sum it up: sure we train hard but that training is no where near as hard as when we race. eventually, the muscles fatigue and cramp. this is just my opinion. not based off any science just my experience.

MinnMan

I can suffer from really bad leg cramps - sometimes at the end of a longer ride and more commonly, after the ride. As people probably have already said, the onset of cramps *after* the ride is after a period of being stationary. If I sit on the couch (or take a nap) in the afternoon after a hard ride, and then stand up, the cramps in my quads or hamstrings can be ***excruciating**.

Without denying the roles of proper attention to hydration and electrolytes, cramps correlate with conditioning, or rather lack thereof. If I haven' been riding long hard distances regularly (i.e., averaging less than 200 miles/week in the month previous), I can get cramps after a 60 mile ride. If it's mid-summer and I'm riding 300 miles/week, I can blast out a full-gas century without any worry about leg cramps. Yes it can be worse or better depending on the heat, hydration, etc., but for me, conditioning is the first-order predictor.

unterhausen

I agree, I used to have leg cramps every spring after starting riding again. And it didn't take 60 miles either. Once I had a lot of miles in my legs, I would only have cramps when I took a day off, as punishment.

pbass

And I'd add to that, foam rolling, before and after rides and on days off as well. I learned from a myofascial release therapist that while stretching is of course great, you're mainly affecting the connection points of tissue with it. If you add in foam rolling you're really massaging the full length of the fascia and muscles, and can really open them up and "get out the gunk" as she would call it. I'm 61, and as long as I foam roll religiously (with a couple simple yoga stretches), I never have any cramps or uncomfortable stiffness or soreness--knees, hips, lower back, legs--all good. If I get lazy and don't do it for a couple days, man, I can get woken up in the middle of the night with a calf cramp that practically makes you fall out of bed!

Calsun

Problems with quads suggest either using too high a gear or having your seat too low (something I see all the time). Supplementing magnesium is usually advisable. Electrolytes in the form of some sports drink are worthless despite all the marketing hype.

Staying hydrated is a different matter and sugar can result in water entering the blood stream faster. With dehydration the blood is thicker and one can understand that this is detrimental. Another blood clogger is animal protein and thick of Crisco in your veins.

Training is important so that your muscles increase their ability to process glycogen and to remove waste products. An excellent book covering much of this is the one Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding by Daniel Lieberman.

Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. If you want science and not the opinion pseudo experts of which there are many thousands, then this is a great place to start.

koala logs

Your seat is definitely too high and you're pointing your toes down excessively on the down stroke. High seat is easy for quads but hard on the calves.

Drop your heel and seat a bit to put less work on the calves and more to the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. Helps even things a bit.

Nothing seems to be wrong with your hydration and fueling. If there is, your whole legs, not just the calves will bonk out.

mstateglfr 

curious analysis without having seen me on a bike.

pennstater

I am 69 years old. For years I regularly suffered leg cramps. About 2 weeks ago I had a B12 injection following finding of low B12 level. Since then no leg cramps. Coincidence? Maybe. But, if you are over 60, or vegan or on an antacid proton pump inhibitor like Nexium you may exhibit low B12 abosorption. A simple blood test can determine your level.

Calsun

As we age our ability to absorb key nutrients from food decreases. We also have far fewer micro nutrients in our industrially produced and process foods where fiber is removed to increase shelf life. Less fiber and the "food" passes through our intestinal track more quickly and even less of the remaining nutrients can be absorbed.

Magnesium is one key nutrient that is important for leg muscles but also for another muscle, the heart. Often when people are admiitted after surviving a heart attack it is found that they are extremely deficient in magnesium.

The thinking that you do not need supplements if you eat a healthy diet is severely flawed and would not be true for someone in their twenties much less a senior or a senior athlete. This shows up with the level of vitamin D that needs to be evaluated by measuring the blood serum level. The RDA is less than 1000 mg but I need 7,000 mg to keep my vitamin D blood serum level in the "normal" range.

Family doctors are clueless when it comes to nutrition as they only need one introductory course that focuses on infant formulas in order to graduate from medical school. Doctors that have gone on to specialize in functional medicine know far more and can often provide more comprehensive solutions.

I avoid artificial (man made industrially processed as with sugar alcohols) sweeteners entirely. Aspartame was clearly shown to produce brain tumors in the lab and it was initially rejected by the FDA for this reason. Donald Rumsfeld, the chairman of Searle that had developed the sweeter, was a major campaign fund raiser for Ronald Reagan. Once Reagan took office one of his first acts was to apppoint a new head for the FDA and this man quickly approved aspartame and in doing so he made Rumsfeld a very rich man.

wolfchild

If your body can't absorb nutrients from food ,what makes you think it will absorb artificial supplements and nutrients which have been processed and isolated from food ??...

Calsun

Are you being serious? It has been known for over a century that people develop scurvy when they lack fruit in their diet. Sailors were given limes to prevent scurvy on long voyages. The body can absorb man made ascorbic acid and it will prevent scurvy. Not a major concern in the USA but a problem in India and other places where people cannot afford to buy fruit for their diet.

The problem is that with industrial farming the nutrients are removed from the soil and what is added in is man made nitrogen but no mineral elements like copper and magnesium and selenium which are important for proper body functioning. This information is not at all difficult to find but one does has to open ones mind and be capable of critical thinking.

When the teachers went on strike in Washington state the union head spoke out that they were protesting the use of the federally mandated (and highly profitable for the companies involved) student tests. Their concern was that they were teaching for the test and what the students needed to be learning instead was critical thinking. She was right as this is sadly lacking among children and adults.

koala logs

I usually drink one whole bottle shortly before the ride. Typically less than 15 minutes before the ride and then pee right before I left.

I also take a huge meal around 30 minutes before the ride. Mostly rice (high, slow-burn carb) and some meat and cold milk chocolate drink. Many cycling articles advice against eating a huge meal shortly before a ride but it doesn't seem to have any negative effect on me. And that's for a non-stop 60 mile ride in the mountains. I also bring at least three bottles of water, with ~85F riding temps and rice-based fuel food.

The point is if you're rationing food and drink, you probably didn't bring enough. Eat and drink liberally during the ride as long as you don't feel stuffed.

It's probably the fueling and try to avoid standing too often to pedal on climbs long, hard, no stopping rides. It can ruin your pacing. Perhaps, improve your seated climbing with training. Train for higher cadence spinning, and even install smaller gear ratios.

mstateglfr 

Thanks, but based on your totally baseless and incorrect analysis earlier in this thread, I have written off your views.

koala logs

That's alright, no big deal.

chas58

ms state

I've been using this the last couple of years. Trace Minerals Research Endure Performance Electrolyte. I used to get totally drained from a good bike ride, but now I recover quickly with this stuff. Its concentrated - a bottle lasts me a year. I use it before, during, and after. Hydrating doesn't do me any good if my electrolytes are off.

https://www.allstarhealth.com/de_p_r...lectrolyte.htm
(i don't know the vendor, its just from a google search).

mstateglfr 

Thanks!

I havent cramped since this event last August, but I will always look into something simple to add like this.
I did a 100mi ride a week and a half ago and used nuun tablets in addition to some food and pickle chips at a quick stop, but I have 3 more century rides in the next 6 weeks and anything that can quickly replace what I sweat out is good to try.

chas58

I suspect its doing the same thing as NUUN or Pickle Juice. I find it more cost effective than NUUN if I’m biking a lot in hot weather (and sweating a lot), and well, pickle juice is what, mostly vinegar…? NUUN and pickle juice are more fun to talk about though.

I just add 10 drops to a bottle of water. Rather tasteless (adds a slightly salty taste to the water)