NyteBlade

I've been trying to ride about 15 miles a week for the past few months. I know that's about the amount some of you guys do just before you warm up for a ride, but I've gone from being arguably very out of shape for a 21 year old to at least not too tired after a good 10 mile ride.

Over about the last week the car was in the shop, so I didn't ride at all, and low and behold, I started feeling some what's best described as tightness in my left calf. I had been on my feet perhaps a bit more than normal, so I ignored it.

Last night I woke up several times with this strange sensation - it felt like the calf was tightening, then gradually relaxing. It happened every minute or so. It's continued on through today. Seems like no matter whether I'm on my feet, sitting down, or lying down, it continues. I think it might be some sort of spasm, but I don't see any sort of spasming just watching my leg.

Just wondering if anyone else has had something like this before and can shed some light on what it is or how to make it better/prevent it. The only "supplement" I'm taking now is about 1/4 of a normal doseage of protein powder after a ride, mainly because I like the taste. Mom swears I should take magnesium supplements, reading WebMD just makes me feel like I have 22 different diseases and should amputate my leg...

10 Wheels

I take Twinlab Magnesium Caps 400 mg.
Never cramped in 31,000 miles while riding.
Have had some cramps after the ride.
Best thing I learned is to stand up and walk when that happens
83 miles today in 93* Temps. Legs feel fine.

Don in Austin

Do you stretch after riding? If not, I would start.

Don in Austin

MattG42C

Earlier this year, I was having some major tightness in my calves that I hadn't experienced before, especially on rides longer than ~15 miles. I remembered that I had purchased new shoes, and since my old shoes were 2cm smaller, the same relative cleat position resulted in a forward/aggressive position in the new shoes. I moved my cleats to the farthest-back position and haven't had any issues since. My $0.02 anyways.
-Matt.

Zan

Nerd.

Zan

NyteBlade,

Is the bike set up correctly for you? On short rides, like 10 miles, you can ride around on a bike that isn't set up for you properly and not feel any pain. Bad fit is more noticeable on the longer rides.

One of the most common mistakes I see with new cyclists is improper seat height adjustment. It also happens to be one of the easiest problems to fix.