JoeOxfordCT

.....I could hammer away for hours on end...

Hi All,

Did a metric century yesterday.
Fall Harvest in Westport CT. https://www.soundcyclists.com/Harvest2.htm

Rode with some folks from work for the first 20 miles...pace was leisurely.
After the rest stop I told the others that I was going to ride ahead at my own pace.
I picked it up and rode both solo and with other riders at what I would call a training or hard pace. The weather was cool but humid. The terrain was flat to rolling...no big climbs. I hydrated and ate throughout the ride. At about 40 miles I started to feel like I was at the edge of some calf cramps and ate about 4 Tums, something I had read about as helping to eliminate cramps. Then, with about 18 miles to go I was riding solo and was caught by a couple guys riding fast on Ti bikes. I latched on and rode with them taking pulls when I could but I was definitely the weakest of the group. All the while I was right at the edge of getting cramps.....I could feel it starting to come on and then since I was drafting, I could sit up and stretch it out on the bike and continue riding...I took 2 more Tums and we finished together. I complimented the guys on their fast pace and packed up to go home.

Last night I stretched while watching the Giants get hammered by Seattle I felt sluggish this morning but rode 10 miles before work.

All in all I was happy with my effort yesterday....however, if I rode my training pace from the start instead of from 20 miles on I think I might have had to deal with cramps earlier than at the 40 mile mark.
Two, as I posted here last week, I did give blood last Thursday so I can't say how much, if any, difference that may have made.

I am very happy with my bike setup and feel that I hydrate & eat properly both before & during ride however I can't seem to get past this cramping thing....it really wasn't too bad yesterday but I've been forced off my bike by them on previous long rides....

As for training I typically get in 3 rides during the week before work of 10-20 miles...Saturdays I get a 25-30 miler in and Sundays can be anything from 35-70 miles depending on my schedule. My rest days are typically Thursdays & Fridays.

I don't really have time to ride any more....my resting on Thursdays & Fridays is forced because I have to leave the house early for work. I do weights for my upper body twice a week at the gym at work. I'm 5'10" & 180lbs......ideally I'd like to be 170 but I do like to eat..

Any suggestions ??

Hipcycler

Electrolyte tabs?

They did help me somewhat, but still not 100%.

I hear ya on the cramps bro...but ironically, I've NEVER had a cramp issue in my calves as you had. My problem area is always the quads.

badkarma

I get cramps as well when I'm working really hard. I find that if I keep myself properly hydrated, they don't happen nearly as frequently.

Yeah, that ruined my weekend too.

JoeOxfordCT

What electrolyte tabs are you referring to ?

Nope...with me it's calves & hamstrings......
In fact after the ride yesterday when I got home I noticed the baby was napping so I decided to take "advantage" of the situation with my wife....well I'll just say this, certain positions will make your hamstrings cramp more than others.....

blonduathlongrl

potassium and being well hydraded helps a lot.

JoeOxfordCT

I take GNC Potassium & Magnesium Aspartate 250 on a daily basis....believe me, I was way worse before I started taking this stuff.....

BoSoxYacht

Bananas! Eat more bananas. Due to a back injury ,I suffer from cramping in my right leg. One of my doctors recomended that I eat a couple of bananas every day for a while, to see if it would help. Since then I have stopped getting cramps while sleeping(unless I'm dehydrated from alcohol). The doctors tried 3 different prescriptions with no results, but the bananas work like a charm.

Hipcycler

https://www.e-caps.com/za/ECP?PAGE=PR...0047&AMI=10104

JoeOxfordCT

How many ??
Do you mean before & during rides ? Or in general ?

I ate a PB&J sandwich & 1 large banana before the ride.
I drank one large water bottle by the first rest stop @ 20 miles. (I carried 2 bottles)
At the rest stop I refilled the bottle with Gatorade and ate several pb&banana sandwiches.
At the second rest stop @ 38 miles I refilled the large water bottle of Gatorade than I had drank.
I had a couple more pb& banana sandwiches and one half banana. This was also where I at 4 Tums too as I had just begun to get the first twinges of a cramp in my right calf.
Between this rest stop and the end (62 miles) I drank the large bottle of Gatorade and ate 2 more Tums but this was also where I hooked up with the 2 fast Ti riders and hammered too...

JoeOxfordCT

Thanks Hip...you do the caps rather than the powder ?

How would you take this preparing for a big ride ?

I still have the Great River Ride to do in 2 weeks....
https://newhorizonsbikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=161
Over 7.5K of climbing....

Hipcycler

You take a couple of them an hour before a 'big effort' ride.
I do not take them on my daily 26-mile route....however....if I know I am meeting a couple of guys and it is going to be hammerfest time....or if I am going on a 50-mile plus ride, I'll take them

..and yes, on my century I popped a couple during the ride too.

You can also open the caplets and drop the powder into your drink mix in your bottle...that way you get the protection a little faster into your system.

blonduathlongrl

starting to get a little chilli out there huh? I dont have problems with cramps but I thought I came back home with an ear missing from the cold.. and it's only sept still!!! grrr

JoeOxfordCT

Is that what I saw on the road this morning ???

Actually I think the weather is perfect now for cycling....
It's the shortening days that are frustrating..

blonduathlongrl

true but it gets darn cold over here in the morning..40's or so and to add up Im by the ocean which is always windy

Cassave

Anti-acid tablets work for me. Just generic Tums type tablets. Most are 500mg calcium carbonate per tablet. I did a double metric yesterday and started mild cramping on the second to the last long hill at about mile 115. Pulled over, chomped down 3 or 4 tablets and within a minute the cramps were gone.

Machka 

Exactly how much did you drink? During the ride? In the 12 hours preceding the ride?

The most common cause of cramping is dehydration. The recommended amount to drink on a ride is one 750 ml (3 cup) bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours while you are riding. Any more than that, and your body may have trouble digesting it. And that 8 glasses of water a day recommendation which we've all been told about since we were children is a good one to follow especially if we are at all active and/or especially if it is hot.

I get cramps in my feet on occasion ... and I find that the moment I feel the first twinges of cramping starting, if I down several good swallows of my sports drink, and then keep drinking a swallow or two every 5-10 minutes, I can usually ward off serious cramps.

bbattle

Are you drinking plenty of water BEFORE you ride?

JoeOxfordCT

Enough to be annoyed at how often I'm going to the bathroom....I had been drinking extra anyways after having given blood on Thursday.

I suppose I could cut out the big cup of coffee I have the morning of the ride (..and every other morning) but I like my coffee...As far as during the ride, I drank one large water bottle in between each rest stop...@ approx. 20 & 40 miles. I carried two but never really felt the need to start the second one.....I also was able to use the bathroom at each rest stop too so I think I was drinking enough.

I think I'm going to order the stuff Hip recommended and try that

dstrong 

I spoke with a guy in the eLoad booth at the Hotter-n-Hell and he told me that you are typically on the verge of dehydration the moment you wake up in the morning. Before my long rides I now try to drink as much as 2 liters of water/endurance gatorade (over 1-2 hours). The challenge is finding a place to pee right before the ride, especially if you're doing a group ride and you're meeting, say, at a school or some other place without restrooms. I'm learning to build it in to my time table.

On hot days I also use Endurolyte capsules so that I can just drink plain water. Even watered down gatorade/powerade starts tasting too sweet after 4 hours on the bike. I use 2-3 capsules every hour depending on my rough estimate of my sweat output and the amount of water/gatorade/powerade I've consumed.

JoeOxfordCT

Yup, that's what Hip recommended too and I've just ordered a bottle to try. I will make a point to try and drink more water in the day prior to the event as well.....

It was a great ride yesterday....I'm glad I got out.....
Bike's going to the LBS tomorrow....triple is being swapped out for a compact....
Great River Ride, here I come

bigskymacadam

on a bad day, i've chewed these things and spit out the "shell" .... tasted strong but helped real quick.

i take three or four at the top of every hour when it's hot. one an hour on cool days. saved my ass at stp.

did i mention i dont' cramp anymore? your mileage may vary.

JoeOxfordCT

Hip mentioned breaking open a capsule and mixing it in his water bottle....but chewing one raw in your mouth ??? You go boy !!

bigskymacadam

oh. how do you know you've taken too many electrolytes? your ankles will swell from the water retention. adjust accordingly. i've never had too many. also, if you get home and you're encrusted in salt like a roasted pork loin, that's another way your body is saying there's too much in your system and it's trying to get rid of the excess.

JoeOxfordCT

How is it on your stomach ???

bigskymacadam

i don't think i take enough to cause any gastro distress. to me, there's no discernable difference on the tummy with or without.