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NoRacer 05-04-10 05:11 AM


Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 10760895)
where's Isaias?? No trip report, no twitter? What's up?

I'm friggin' disgusted by what is starting to become a "history" for me with this heat thing.

I drank more than usual--Gatorade--and still... Maybe, I'm expecting too much of myself. Dunno. I need to work this problem out.

Anyway, I'm glad no one else was around. It would have been scary to the uninitiated. DC RAND has witnessed it--was not a pretty sight.

By the time my sister came and got me, the worse was over, so they didn't see it either.

Bah.

greaterbrown 05-04-10 05:47 AM

that sux. sorry to hear that.
wasn't there a character in the Tick cartoon who was so overwhelmed by his own muscles that he could barely even move?
This what I'm imagining.

water and electrolytes are understood to be contributors to cramping, but researchers really don't know the full story of why muscles cramp. It's an electrical thing. there are sad cases of people who cramp constantly even though they're well hydrated and not exerting themselves.

NoRacer 05-04-10 06:05 AM


Originally Posted by greaterbrown (Post 10762134)
that sux. sorry to hear that.
wasn't there a character in the Tick cartoon who was so overwhelmed by his own muscles that he could barely even move?
This what I'm imagining.

water and electrolytes are understood to be contributors to cramping, but researchers really don't know the full story of why muscles cramp. It's an electrical thing. there are sad cases of people who cramp constantly even though they're well hydrated and not exerting themselves.

I'm glad that I'm NOT -that- afflicted. Wow, I couldn't imagine the pain. Some of my leg cramps are so severe, it feels like they could break bones, though.

I'm not blogging the ride, but here's what I wrote in the Notes:


Hit the "wall". Hurt myself--again. Cramps in both legs, singly and both at the same time, in my right quad muscles, shoulders, and feet. I even got a cramp in the right side of my face, which must've looked strange, but doesn't hurt like the others.

I need to work on a cooling vest or some other method of keeping my core temp down on hot/humid days like today.

I guess I should have not tried to ride 35 miles to the ride start, then ride hard with the racers. Altogether, my "climbing index" was nearly a 10 (8395 ft of climbing / (85.61 miles x 100) = an index of 9.8--I think). Did I mention that it was hot and humid?

I got scared enough that I called my parents' home for help. My brother and sister came out to get me at Harford Elementary School off of Pylesville Rd. By the time they found me (doesn't anyone else in my family know how to use Google Maps or have a GPS?) the worst of the "heat attack" was over.

Besides--I had no choice, but to get up and start moving around. The place on the lawn where I was laying down, in the shade, had big black ants. They were crawling on me. I made the mistake of killing a few. They didn't like that, so they started biting. I had to get up, if even just to get away from the ants.

balto charlie 05-04-10 06:20 AM


Originally Posted by NoRacer (Post 10762081)
I'm friggin' disgusted by what is starting to become a "history" for me with this heat thing.

I drank more than usual--Gatorade--and still... Maybe, I'm expecting too much of myself. Dunno. I need to work this problem out.

Anyway, I'm glad no one else was around. It would have been scary to the uninitiated. DC RAND has witnessed it--was not a pretty sight.

By the time my sister came and got me, the worse was over, so they didn't see it either.

Bah.

bummer Sounds like you got the type where the muscle cramps and won't let go. I've gotten them over the years. Sometimes during sleep after hard workout. Wakes me up!!! This weekend I got small shooting ones down the leg. If I mashed at all they would turn into the bad ones. They seem to happen after a rest stop. I would drink a lot and eat some salty stuff but they still came then subsided. Didn't stop me but slowed me down.
I know that foods high in GI can give you an insulin peak which is not really good for a long ride. Leg cramps are also tied to diabetes so I'm wondering since diabetes is an insulin problem then anything affecting sharp insulin peaks might also cause cramps. Since diabetes runs in my family I keep an eye on myself. I'm not diabetic but am guessing I lean in that direction. I try to watch my high GI intake on long rides which is hard since this is what I crave. That mango saved my butt.
FWIW: I drank 2 big bottles of gatorade(>QT,~48oz), 1 soda, and at least 5 liters of water and still cramped a little. Seems like enough fluids but I only took 1 piss until I got home. How much more water can I drink??? Best, Dr. Charlie

balto charlie 05-04-10 06:23 AM

Your face cramped???

balto charlie 05-04-10 06:30 AM

I might be preaching to the choir but do you know how to stretch a muscle to get rid of a cramp? Each muscle can be moved(stretched) to eliminate the cramp. BUT you better know which way to move it or you'll increase the cramp.

NoRacer 05-04-10 06:30 AM


Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 10762241)
Your face cramped???

Yes. During a wince in pain from a leg cramp, my right face cheek muscle cramped for a second. :rolleyes:

NoRacer 05-04-10 06:35 AM


Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 10762262)
I might be preaching to the choir but do you know how to stretch a muscle to get rid of a cramp? Each muscle can be moved(stretched) to eliminate the cramp. BUT you better know which way to move it or you'll increase the cramp.

I'd have to catch it at the first sign of tightening. That's usually while still on the bike. I'd have to ... stop.

But that day, in that area, there is no respite from the sun. Delta Rd is wide open to the sun. It becomes Pylesville Rd--open to the sun. If I would've made it farther south, Mountain Rd--open to the sun, then Rt 40... more of the same. The result would have been the same. Dessication.

It was the wrong day to do that ride and any hard riding on top of it.

maxine 05-04-10 08:01 AM

Yeeeesh, NR, massive multiple cramps, attacked by ants . . . :eek: :(

I've read, in various contexts, that Gatorade is next to worthless for really hardcore endurance riding -- it just doesn't have enough electrolytes and potassium or what-all else that's needed. (I wonder how many RAAM racers have Gatorade sloshing in their water bottles?)

Do you think you're getting enough calories, on a steady basis, over the course of your rides?

(My sympathies! I also have always had issues with high heat/humidity; I've never been able to cope with it very well.)

balto charlie 05-04-10 10:10 AM

spent lunch reading on cramping. Magnesium might now be considered the most important electrolyte. Bean burritos at lunch.

http://www.cptips.com/muspain.htm

NoRacer 05-04-10 12:40 PM


Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 10763233)
spent lunch reading on cramping. Magnesium might now be considered the most important electrolyte. Bean burritos at lunch.

http://www.cptips.com/muspain.htm

I have some magnesium supplements, but I quit using them, because they didn't seem to work for me. Maybe I should give them another try.

I still need to think of a way to keep my core temp down, though. Water bottles filled with ice in my back pockets perhaps? Maybe, all I need is to slow down on hot days. I've not had this problem during my ride to Ocean City the past three years--and, that's in July!

maxine 05-04-10 02:06 PM


Originally Posted by NoRacer (Post 10763935)
I still need to think of a way to keep my core temp down, though. Water bottles filled with ice in my back pockets perhaps? Maybe, all I need is to slow down on hot days. I've not had this problem during my ride to Ocean City the past three years--and, that's in July!

Well . . . those were some pretty freakish temperatures for the 1st of May. (I did the Six Pillars Century that day over on the Eastern Shore, with very little shade. I didn't suffer any cramps, but the unrelenting sun and heat were *not* doing me any favors!) By July, most years, you've had at least some opportunity to acclimate a bit to the heat.

I recall reading accounts of a 1200k a few years back (I think it was the Gold Rush Randonee?) at which blistering temperatures were really taking a toll on the randos. Some of them resorted to filling tube socks with ice and then knotting the ends and draping them around their necks. (Of course, they got a lot of water dripping all over them, but apparently it was worth it for the extra chill factor.)

It sounds counter-intuitive, but I sometimes think my Camelbak helps in this regard -- yeah, it's extra weight and material, but it does block more sunshine from my back, and the water, which is resting against my back, stays much colder longer than it does in bottles. I dunno, though, I have kind of a love-hate thing going with the 'bak . . . :)

balto charlie 05-04-10 05:07 PM

the reason folks put cold stuff around their neck is to cool their arteries which cools their brain. This may also help NR. I have one of those bandanas which hold cold water and goes around your neck.

bike alliance meeting: how did it go?

greaterbrown 05-04-10 09:44 PM

M2M ride report is up:
http://randoramble.posterous.com/18100138

Trek760 05-04-10 10:47 PM

Hey NR, have you tried using NUUN in your water bottles? They are awesome and taste great. http://www.nuun.com/ all of our racers use it and live by it.

NoRacer 05-05-10 05:07 AM


Originally Posted by Trek760 (Post 10766539)
Hey NR, have you tried using NUUN in your water bottles? They are awesome and taste great. http://www.nuun.com/ all of our racers use it and live by it.

Thanks, Rick, I may give that stuff a try.

I did do ZYM for a while, but it's expensive. NUUN seems to be less so.

maxine 05-05-10 05:08 AM


Originally Posted by greaterbrown (Post 10766255)

GB, nice report! I really enjoyed that route when I rode down to meet some Pittsburgh friends for the weekend last month. As you note, it's kind of surprising how tranquil most of it is. Hopefully by next year's Ramble I'll be a bit faster and able to join the group for the day ride. :) (That new MetBranch trail will be a HUGE improvement, too!)

I'm sorry I missed your long-distance talk at Velocipede last night. ([bleep]ing work! :mad: I need to retire! :D) How did it go?

NoRacer 05-05-10 05:18 AM

Went to Bob's thing over at Velocipede last night. Very good. Appropriate for it's audience. There were about 20 folks there, I would guess.

As a side note: it's weird riding east on North Avenue at 8:30pm. There were lots of people out of their houses visiting with each other or just enjoying the evening by sitting on their stoup.

Sinclair Ln was a bit challenging, especially by the Baltimore cemetery--lots of glass along the edge of the road. I was glad that I was not running skinny tires.

balto charlie 05-05-10 08:14 AM

GB: Nice write up and loved the picture of the buttercups. I remember that stretch and thought how beautiful it looked. I forgot to tell y'all about the osprey that dove into the Annacostia and grabbed a fish and flew off. Couldn't make your talk, sorry.

Elk or Harry:Baltimore Alliance update or a link of what happened at the meeting and next meeting date.

Biking in Balto: here's arecent link from the City Paper
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=20132
You know most of what's in the article but it is a "call to arms" for cyclist. We gotta get more vocal.

@trek or nuun users: How many do you do? every bottle of water, I drink a lot?

balto charlie 05-05-10 08:15 AM


Originally Posted by NoRacer (Post 10767047)
As a side note: it's weird riding east on North Avenue at 8:30pm. There were lots of people out of their houses visiting with each other or just enjoying the evening by sitting on their stoup.

I was just on the west side of North Ave a week or 2 ago and saw the same sights. The folks were having a great time with neighbors. Much more boring in the 'burbs.

NoRacer 05-05-10 09:59 AM


Originally Posted by balto charlie (Post 10767575)
Biking in Balto: here's a recent link from the City Paper

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=20132

You know most of what's in the article but it is a "call to arms" for cyclist. We gotta get more vocal.


Great synopsis of the current cycling "environment" in Baltimore and surrounding major cities.

greaterbrown 05-05-10 01:28 PM

Damn! The Ramble's gettin' some serious checking out. Over 100 views in less than 24hrs.
:thumb:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/...b8c6bea5ce.jpg

How many of these people should I expect for the January 2011 ride? ;)

rapidreview 05-05-10 04:09 PM

A newbie here. Been riding for a little over a month now - Live in Bethesda, so I've mainly done Beach Drive and Capital Crescent. Any other biker friendly routes that's readily accessible, possibly in DC after I get off of CCT? Thanks.

-Jon

rapidreview 05-05-10 04:10 PM

A newbie here. Been riding for a little over a month now - Live in Bethesda, so I've mainly done Beach Drive and Capital Crescent. Any other biker friendly routes that's readily accessible, possibly in DC after I get off of CCT? Thanks.

-Jon

Trek760 05-05-10 11:08 PM

@BC You can use one tablet in each bottle if you want, it depends on your need. A lot of our guys use one bottle of NUUN and one plain in their cages.


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