leg cramps on long rides



forrest brown

New Member
Oct 4, 2004
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Ive been riding for about 3 years, About 60 to 100 miles a week.
I eat and drink everything your sapose to from gel pacs to cycle
max untill I'm ready to exploid. But it seems to go right through me,
I pee every 30 min,But I still get cramps above my knees so bad I
can hardly bent my legs.Any sugestions will be great.
Im 39 & 180 pounds and ride a full suspention 2.000$ bike.
Thanks Brownie
 
I had the same problem with cramps at the start of the season. In one race i had cramp in both quads and my left calf!!

I moved the saddle up slightly, due to my legs not straightening enough and have had no more problems since. Or maybe you legs are too straight on the downstroke.

I don't know alot about MTB but give it ago and see what happens.
 
Are you sure it is cramp or could it be knee pain?

Cramp is part and parcel of being a cyclist I'm afraid. Are you doing the usual things to try and combat it? (fluids, higher cadence, bananas, salts)
 
I have an annoying problem of cramp in the soles of my foot. It happens when climbing. I also find that if I kneel in such a way as my butt rests on my heels (to stretch my tight leg muscles) I can't hold the position for more than a few seconds. Cramp instantly attacks my foot.


forrest brown said:
Ive been riding for about 3 years, About 60 to 100 miles a week.
I eat and drink everything your sapose to from gel pacs to cycle
max untill I'm ready to exploid. But it seems to go right through me,
I pee every 30 min,But I still get cramps above my knees so bad I
can hardly bent my legs.Any sugestions will be great.
Im 39 & 180 pounds and ride a full suspention 2.000$ bike.
Thanks Brownie
 
If you're sure its a leg cramp and not some other issues, try iodized salt in your drink. I put 1/2tsp salt on my 28oz drink. I never experienced cramps when riding. Good luck!
 
forrest brown said:
Ive been riding for about 3 years, About 60 to 100 miles a week.
I eat and drink everything your sapose to from gel pacs to cycle
max untill I'm ready to exploid. But it seems to go right through me,
I pee every 30 min,But I still get cramps above my knees so bad I
can hardly bent my legs.Any sugestions will be great.
Im 39 & 180 pounds and ride a full suspention 2.000$ bike.
Thanks Brownie
http://www.roadbikerider.com/cramps.htm
 
tanggoman said:
If you're sure its a leg cramp and not some other issues, try iodized salt in your drink. I put 1/2tsp salt on my 28oz drink. I never experienced cramps when riding. Good luck!
I'm sure there have been studies that have shown salt, additional to that in a balanced diet, is unnecessary save in very hot conditions when sweat loss is extreme.
 
forrest brown said:
Ive been riding for about 3 years, About 60 to 100 miles a week.
I eat and drink everything your sapose to from gel pacs to cycle
max untill I'm ready to exploid. But it seems to go right through me,
I pee every 30 min,But I still get cramps above my knees so bad I
can hardly bent my legs.Any sugestions will be great.
Im 39 & 180 pounds and ride a full suspention 2.000$ bike.
Thanks Brownie
It sounds to me that your "cramps" are more muscular soreness or pain.
 
As a BMX racer, I exert unbelievable energy in short bursts within a short amount of time (~30 seconds). The occasional knee and thigh cramps that I get at the finish line are very similar to ones I've experienced on low-effort long rides, and not unlike what you're describing here. They were so bad that you'd drop like a ton of bricks and not be able to get back up.

Adding salt to my diet (I previously cut it to a ridiculously low level) helped, and believe it or not, zinc helps also. I haven't had a problem with them since.
 
Carrera said:
I have an annoying problem of cramp in the soles of my foot. It happens when climbing. I also find that if I kneel in such a way as my butt rests on my heels (to stretch my tight leg muscles) I can't hold the position for more than a few seconds. Cramp instantly attacks my foot.
Loosen your shoes. I used to have this problem and found my shoes were too tight.


Anyway why did Forrest get 9 replies and I got Zero :-(

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t180392.html

L
 
GuyStevens said:
I'm sure there have been studies that have shown salt, additional to that in a balanced diet, is unnecessary save in very hot conditions when sweat loss is extreme.

There HAVE been studies, but they don't show that additional salt is unnecessary. What they HAVE shown is that athletes sweat out different amounts of electrolytes (Costill, 1977; Verde et al. 1982) and so each athlete should experiment with their salt intake to find out what works best for them.

Another problem, along these same lines, is that too much emphasis has been placed on fluid ingestion and so people tend to go overboard with their drinking on the bike and get into a dilutional hyponatremia---it sounds like this may be a factor in this case. Most new research shows that the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) recommendations for up to 1000mL per hour are excessive except in the most extreme conditions. (Often these lab tests were conducted in poorly ventilated areas on stationary ergometers, accounting for the need for increased fluid) Now ad libitum drinking is recommended among researchers and they found this usually falls around 450-600 mL per hour. (Noakes, 1993)

Third, check out calcium supplementation. Ca++ is necessary within the muscle to "unbind" muscle contactile proteins once they begin a contraction....a low level of Ca++ can cause this "unbinding" to not occur and you end up with a muscle in rigor (cramp).

Hope this helps.
 
forrest brown said:
Ive been riding for about 3 years, About 60 to 100 miles a week.
I eat and drink everything your sapose to from gel pacs to cycle
max untill I'm ready to exploid. But it seems to go right through me,
I pee every 30 min,But I still get cramps above my knees so bad I
can hardly bent my legs.Any sugestions will be great.
Im 39 & 180 pounds and ride a full suspention 2.000$ bike.
Thanks Brownie
Try raising your saddle about 5mm, if it helps a little keep raising it in small increments. If your riding clipless pedals make sure your cleats are adjusted properly. You want your feet positioned the same way they would point if your were walking normally i.e. I walk like a duck so I position my toes outward a bit. Finally throw down about $50 - $100 for a decent bike fit. I had some bad knee and ankle soreness until I started fine tuning my fit. I found some great info at www.cptips.com relating to this and other issues.
 
I have this problem, but only when i get off the bike and try to get back on again, or if I walk after riding for 15mins or more - its not so much the pain it's the fact that I loose control of my lower leg - quite scary when it happens in both and I have to hang onto the bike to hold me upright!!

I used to wake up with calf cramps quite often but I haven't had that in the past 3 years or so - the pain I get after riding is nothign like the pain from the full on cramps I used to get.

After a really bad instance (especailly if I walk it off) the muscle feels bruised for days afterwards.

This happened today when I was half way home from work on teh highway - Very embarresing all those cars going past while I was being completely unco trying to get back on without cramping! :eek:

Does anyone else have this problem?? :confused:

PS I do have a knee condition (chondromalcia) in my left knee. I eat bananas whenever I can stomach them before a ride (average ride distance 15-20km)

Anyone advice would be great :D

Shell
Latrobe Valley, Australia