Coffee.

I haven't had problems with my quads, but my calves get kinda testy on me sometimes. What I do is stop pedaling, stand, let one foot go to the bottom of the pedal stroke, and let my ankle sag down as far as it'll go comfortably. Give it about ten seconds, and switch sides. I do it about every half hour or hour, depending on need. I'll stretch my quads when I stop.

I was going to respond to this thread yesterday. It was really cold in Austin, so I figured I'd get my warm-up inside, then run out the door and start my workout as soon as I was on the street. Seeing as how I don't have a stationary bike or trainer (if I did I wouldn't have gone out), I thought jogging in-place was the next best thing.

I spent 10 minutes jogging in place, then went out the door. Legs felt really good! I finished all my intervals in 26deg weather and nearly lost my toes. Today? My calves are DESTROYED from running in-place. That's really, really embarrassing. But hey, it sort of served it's purpose

There is pretty goood evidence that you don't want to stretch before you exercise. It actually can reduce explosive leg power.

See: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122341.php

And there's little evidence that stretching before or after exercise does anything to reduce injury.

See: https://www.tothemaxfit.com/articles/...juryReview.pdf

So when you're going out to ride, the literature would suggest that you simply want to warm up on the bike.

If you want to stretch to increase flexibility, you should do it after, not before riding.