jppe

I might just be the worst cramper upper there is. It's due to a number of factors for me. If you live in the South you're going to sweat pretty good. I might just be the worst hyrdator around too. I take a diuretic for kidney stones.....which have been caused by poor hydration and drinking too much Southern Sweet Iced Tea (quit that several years ago to eliminate the tannin s and the caffeine). Recently my potassium levels have been been lower than desired so I've cut the diuretic in half and have also started taking a potassium supplement, along with magnesium.

I've tried everything to ward off cramps on long warm rides with hills. I've tried quinine, mustard, more electrolytes, eating way too many bananas, etc. I've cramped so badly on rides before I've slightly pulled muscles from pedaling through the darn things. I've discovered muscles I never knew existed.

I rode in a really hilly 100+ miler Sunday. It's pretty tough with almost 10,000' of climbing and pretty steep stingers throughout the ride. The last 3 miles are the toughest stretch of finishing miles for any ride I've done.There were some very scenic views of the Va countryside along the way. Very rural with lots of well preserved farms that had to have been passed down through families over time.

I greatly enjoyed NO cramping which was from a combination of not only spinning easier gears but mostly from taking several ounces of pickle juice along the way. I even ate a few pickles as well. I was thrilled to see the ice cold pickle juice at the rest areas. They actually saved it from the pickles they were serving. So far PJ is the only thing I've found that has worked for me. If you cramp up on those last 3 miles on that ride you're toast. You're already pushing the pedals as hard as you can (front wheel bouncing off the ground at times) and if you stop pedaling you'd not only topple over you've never get restarted.

Give it a try and see how it works for you. Or maybe just move to a less humid climate????

VegasTriker

If you have high blood pressure or are on a low-sodium diet, do not follow this advice. The reason it works is that pickles are steeped in brine. The ingredient list on my Claussen pickle bottle reads: fresh cucumbers, salt, distilled vinegar and spices. Half a pickle gives you 270 mg or 11% of your daily requirement for sodium. Who knows how much is in the brine? You could sprinkle a little table salt in a glass of water and achieve the same result.

BTW, I live in the desert where it is hot and dry. I never take salt tablets just get all I need in my diet. Been cycling in the desert for more than 25 years and never even got dizzy much less have any heat related problems. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be deadly so it is nothing to mess with.

Darth Lefty 

"Honey... why are the pickles dry?"

obed7

both pieces of advice given here are good...pickle juice works, but there are folks who should not use it.
I carried pickle juice in my ice chest along with water and gator aide for years...you will find it quite prevalent at track days and motorcycle races here in Texas...in fact several of the chain grocery stores here carry bottles of it in their store brands.
I usually used the pickle juice if I started cramping for fast relief, but used the water as my main hydration with gator aide as a supplement to the water... racing motorcycle (road) in full leathers in south east texas in july and august is hot.

DiabloScott

I got a bottle of this from a booth at the Tour of California - never heard of it before. Almost makes me want to get a cramp so I can try it... but I don't get them often enough to carry this around with me all the time.

stardognine

I'll definitely give this a try, I get some extreme cramping in my feet & lower legs sometimes. It's not after every ride, it's actually unpredictable, but when it happens it really sucks, as some of you know. Thanks for the tip, OP.

volosong

Nope! Live and ride in the High Desert. Pretty dry around here, and still cramp up if I push it too hard.

takenreasy

Water, water and more water.

OldsCOOL

Thank you for the reminder! Cramps hit me in the hamstrings in the middle of the night lately due to my active and strenuous job. I had forgotten this little trick!

canklecat

A lot of magical qualities are attributed to vinegar and pickling brine, but the good stuff in 'em can be duplicated without excess salt.

OTOH, pickle juice comes free with the pickles. And occasional use probably won't do any harm to most folks. I use mine for making BBQ marinades, because my grandmother preferred the less sweet Texas German Hill Country style BBQ.

In part the mythical qualities were probably influenced by stories about Roman soldiers drinking posca, made from vinegar and poor quality wine. Besides being field-expedient -- it didn't spoil -- it included vitamin C that would be difficult to get in the field diet in some seasons. And their food was heavily salted to prevent spoilage.

I've heard my mom and other relatives claim magical potions from vinegar work better than other stuff, but there's no scientific evidence to prove it works better than any balanced diet. My granddad preferred vinegar and baking soda for heartburn, but it couldn't have worked for the reasons he thought. The two neutralize each other and produce CO2. He probably enjoyed the enormous belch, but definitely didn't need the extra sodium. He often ate ice cream late at night and probably suffered from some lactose intolerance, but didn't realize it. Lactaid and a calcium carbonate antacid would have worked better, but he was an Old West kinda guy and into the home remedy lifestyle.

nmichell

Glad to know that pickle juice works for you. 100 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing, and I'd probably be passed out on the side of the road, pickle juice or not Congrats on finishing such a tough ride -- Ride the Rockies should be a stroll in the park.

OldTryGuy

The pickles/juice at the sag stops during Six Gap help out for sure. I also take a spear or two Kosher Dills with sea salt wrapped in foil and in a zip-lock when doing my own thing.

Many people do not realize that a magnesium deficit can cause cramping along with many other issues. I found that a little shake of the magnesium citrate bottle with a moistening of the wrists and behind the knees is a very inexpensive, $1.00/10 oz. bottle, solution for myself.

irwin7638

I've found that drinking a glass of V8 each morning gives me enough whatever to prevent cramping. Pickle juice must work, well, even professional athletes use it during competition, but V8 is a bit more convenient.

Marc

MoAlpha

Cramps occur in hydrated, electrolyte replete, athletes all the time and likely have something to do with intrinsic changes in the muscle with exercise. I am aware of one laboratory study of pickle juice where it worked like a charm, but faster than the stuff could be absorbed from the stomach. The authors speculated that the anti-cramp effect was mediated by a neural influence of the taste on spinal reflex mechanisms. Interesting.

volosong

Marc, check the ingredient/nutrition label on V8. Has some of the highest sodium content of anything I've ever seen.

OldTryGuy

Reduced sodium V8?

volosong

Quite appropriate to the thread. Usually check cyclingnews and velonews at least once daily to see what's going on in the professional peloton. Phil Gaimon riding for Cannondale just posted his 'rider's journal' about the Winston-Salem nationals. He mentions pickle juice several times.

Volkswagen sponsored live web video broadcast through cyclingnews of the races over the weekend in Winston-Salem. For the road race championship, the riders battled heat and humidity in addition to the undulating course.

Phil Gaimon Journal: Pickle juice and goose bumps - VeloNews.com

David Bierbaum

I've tried reduced sodium V-8... once. That was one too many times! Blech! I hate beets, and boy can you ever taste the beets, when it's not covered by the sheer salty goodness of excess salinity!

jppe

The Nationals were within an hour of where I live. Several of our locals participated. One of our TT folks picked up a bronze in the 65-69 group I think.

Yeah, welcome to humidity. You'd think my body would be more conditioned for it after 63 years of living in the area.

OldTryGuy

I NINJA whole beets and drink it up so no problem with beets and am used to a very low sodium diet so don't need the masking of flavor.

metalheart44

I read about the pickle juice thing a few years ago and was skeptical, but I tried in the middle of the night when I was awakened with cramps and it worked. Since then I have used it occasionally when I get cramps and it always seems to work remarkably fast to relieve leg cramping.

RubeRad

Pickle juice or salt, my wife loves pickle juice, we've started saving juice from pickles, and I don't think we'll ever run out.

I have a friend who rides a lot, and swears by just plain old salt. He keeps little restaurant single-serving paper salt packets in his seatbag and washes one down with a big gulp of water whenever he starts cramping up.

I would believe that salt is the root cause of both.

DrIsotope

This will just make an effort-derived electrolyte imbalance worse. We don't just sweat water, because sweat isn't just water. If you don't replenish the salts, the dehydration worsens.

rydabent

At least once a year I volunteer to run a sag stop for the local bike club. Among the usual thing we have, we also have a jar of dill pickles. This year we had two gallon jars of them, and all the pickles and the juice was used up. Many rider commented on how the pickles and the juice help prevent cramps.

irwin7638

Since the result of my annual physicals results in blood pressure readings described as "perfect," I'm not going to get concerned. When that changes, maybe I'll try the low sodium variety.

Marc