Cramping calf muscle and numb toes....

[Bootleg]

I know there's a ton of information out there about cramping but sometimes it's hard to sift through all the junk to get usable information. I'm hoping that you guys can help me out with my cramping issue.

I've only been cycling for a little over a month so I still have a lot to learn and my fitness level is still far from ideal. I started out doing fairly lumpy 13.7 mile rides and have been bringing the time down and average speed up as I get more miles under my belt. I'll do a longer 22-25 mile ride on the weekend and that seems to be going fairly well also. However, I'm having two issues that keep popping up; numbness in my toes and cramping in my left calf.

The cramping is really bothering me. My main concern is that it's only in my left calf. I'm not sure if it has something to do with my seat position, having one leg slightly linger than the other, how I pedal, or what. My position on the bike is fairly comfortable. I have noticed that I seem so sit more on the right side of the saddle than the left meaning that I'm extending my right leg father than the left while pedaling. I also noticed that last night I pedal with my toes pointed down as opposed to my feet being flat/ish. I've also noticed the cramps on days I ride with a sports drink and day I ride with just water. I keep packets of mustard (old football remedy) in my jersey and will suck two or three down when I cramp up which helps some. I'll hop off the bike, eat the mustard and try to massage the muscle as best I can for a few minutes. Normally that helps but last night was no dice. The last 8 miles of my 22 mile ride I had to really nurse that leg home. I always try to drink plenty of water throughout the day, take a multivitamin and potassium, and eat two bananas a day. Anyone see anything that jumps out at them?

The numbness is less of a concern but I'd still like to get to the bottom of it. At first I thought my shoes were too small. I bought the bike from a friend and he threw in a pair of diadora mtb shoes. I picked up some cheap mtb pedals and slapped them on the road bike and everything seemed except for the numbness. I figured the shoes were too small so I picked up a pair or Lake CX190 which have the spd cleat mounts as well as the three hole. The shoes are great and the fit is snug but comfortable but still the numbness continued. I talked to a guy at my local bike shop and he suggested that all the pedaling pressure was being exerted on a small area of the foot with the spd cleat and that I should get some road pedals. So I ponied up and picked up some Speedplay Zeros (which I love btw) but I'm still having the numbness in my toes. Any ideas?

I want to say thanks for those of you who stuck with me through my wordy post. Any help is very very appreciated!

 

[alfeng]

You should probably lower your bike's saddle by about a half inch ... maybe more, maybe less.

Your new shoes are probably still too small for your feet.

 

[Bootleg]

I wondered about the saddle height. I also wondered if a shim on my right cleat would help because it feels like my right leg is a tad shorter which could cause some uneven pedaling.

I doubt my shoes are still too small. When I wear cycling socks I have room to move around in the shoe and when I wear regular short running socks they fit me snug. I really don't want to go up from a 46 to a 46.5 because I think at that point they'll be far too big. Plus I doubt Lake will take a return with 4 rides on them....

 

[daveryanwyoming]

- Shimming the pedal on your known short leg makes sense, especially if you're not sitting centered on the saddle.

- Pedaling "toes down" is common and not a problem. It's more typical than heel dropping or entirely flat pedaling. But if you're doing it for extra reach because the seat is too high for one or both legs then that's not good. There are a lot of seat height "formulas" out there but they're all starting points that generally get modified to match a particular rider's flexibility and pedaling style. One of the most common methods is to unclip from the pedals and check to see that your heels just skim or slightly miss the pedal at the bottom of the stroke when you sit square on the saddle with your legs straight. That method assumes at least a tiny amount of "toe down" pedaling and the extra length of your feet.

- I don't know much about the mustard approach, but if you're riding in hot or humid weather you should think about supplementing sports drinks with electrolyte tabs. I use them before and during long rides and races in hot weather and try to take them before any cramping develops. Good sports drinks help (I like Heed and Cytomax) but I find I need more electrolytes when racing in hot weather than they give me or I'll cramp.

- And as a newer rider, make sure you're pacing well and using your gears effectively for the terrain. Pounding huge gears or sprinting up every hill can really take a toll on your legs if you don't have a lot of training base.

-Also get into the habit of shifting up a cog or two and riding out of the saddle for a handful of pedal strokes here and there. Not hammering or trying to accelerate, just a chance to stretch out your muscles here and there on your rides without having to slow down. Stretching on the bike is a riding skill worth mastering before you do longer rides. Play with things like stretching your back and intentionally coasting and dropping your heels to stretch your calves and hamstrings from time to time while you ride.

- Hard to say with the numb toes. If you're sure your shoes aren't too small or strapped too tight then I'd check for hotspots while you ride and make sure you're not pinching nerves anywhere (the riding cockeyed in the saddle could be causing trouble).

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[Bootleg]

Thanks for the advise Dave. I'll make sure to try and give my legs the stretching they need while I'm riding.

I try not to never hammer on the pedals if I can help it. I try and stay around 85-90 rpm cadence when I'm on flats, gentle climbs or descent. The only time I ever spin less than 80 rpms is in a climb where I just can't help it. Even then I get in the biggest gear on the cassette I have and try and keep the rpms as high as I can.... until my legs just give out.

The mustard is an old trick my coaches used for players on the football field who got cramps. It's very helpful at relieving the craps and only takes a few minutes. I was told it had high potassium and sodium. It does work though. I've also heard pickle juice works but I'm not gonna toss a jar of pickles in my jersey...

 

[alfeng]

I doubt my shoes are still too small. When I wear cycling socks I have room to move around in the shoe and when I wear regular short running socks they fit me snug. I really don't want to go up from a 46 to a 46.5 because I think at that point they'll be far too big. Plus I doubt Lake will take a return with 4 rides on them....

Right, it's actually ludicrous to expect a bike shop to accept a return after you've worn the shoes multiple times ... outside. To whom could they sell the USED shoes?!?

Regardless, HERE is the test to determine whether your cycling shoes are properly sized ...

Some evening, immediately after you get home from work, put a pair of your "running" socks & your cycling shoes on. Walk around the house for a couple of minutes. If they feel snug, then they are too small ... if they feel comfortable, then they are probably the right size ...

If they are the right size, consider the footbed liner as the culprit ... try changing it to an aftermarket footbed liner.

BTW. I think that running socks are generally thicker than cycling socks; so, you may want to pony up as much as 10x what you probably paid for your "running" socks and buy a pair of cycling socks!

 

[Bootleg]

BTW. I think that running socks are generally thicker than cycling socks; so, you may want to pony up as much as 10x what you probably paid for your "running" socks and buy a pair of cycling socks!

Yeah, my running socks are considerably thicker than my cycling socks. It doesn't make a bit of difference which I wear. I do need a few more pair so I always have a clean pair to ride in.

 

[swampy1970]

I know there's a ton of information out there about cramping but sometimes it's hard to sift through all the junk to get usable information. I'm hoping that you guys can help me out with my cramping issue.

I've only been cycling for a little over a month so I still have a lot to learn and my fitness level is still far from ideal. I started out doing fairly lumpy 13.7 mile rides and have been bringing the time down and average speed up as I get more miles under my belt. I'll do a longer 22-25 mile ride on the weekend and that seems to be going fairly well also. However, I'm having two issues that keep popping up; numbness in my toes and cramping in my left calf.

The cramping is really bothering me. My main concern is that it's only in my left calf. I'm not sure if it has something to do with my seat position, having one leg slightly linger than the other, how I pedal, or what. My position on the bike is fairly comfortable. I have noticed that I seem so sit more on the right side of the saddle than the left meaning that I'm extending my right leg father than the left while pedaling. I also noticed that last night I pedal with my toes pointed down as opposed to my feet being flat/ish. I've also noticed the cramps on days I ride with a sports drink and day I ride with just water. I keep packets of mustard (old football remedy) in my jersey and will suck two or three down when I cramp up which helps some. I'll hop off the bike, eat the mustard and try to massage the muscle as best I can for a few minutes. Normally that helps but last night was no dice. The last 8 miles of my 22 mile ride I had to really nurse that leg home. I always try to drink plenty of water throughout the day, take a multivitamin and potassium, and eat two bananas a day. Anyone see anything that jumps out at them?

The numbness is less of a concern but I'd still like to get to the bottom of it. At first I thought my shoes were too small. I bought the bike from a friend and he threw in a pair of diadora mtb shoes. I picked up some cheap mtb pedals and slapped them on the road bike and everything seemed except for the numbness. I figured the shoes were too small so I picked up a pair or Lake CX190 which have the spd cleat mounts as well as the three hole. The shoes are great and the fit is snug but comfortable but still the numbness continued. I talked to a guy at my local bike shop and he suggested that all the pedaling pressure was being exerted on a small area of the foot with the spd cleat and that I should get some road pedals. So I ponied up and picked up some Speedplay Zeros (which I love btw) but I'm still having the numbness in my toes. Any ideas?

I want to say thanks for those of you who stuck with me through my wordy post. Any help is very very appreciated!

The numbness issue. If the shoes are a good fit then I'd take a look at replacing the insole. Seek out your nearest Specialized 'Body Geometry' dealer and have them stand you on the 'foot doohicky' to see what type of insole would work best for you - there are several different types. Even though the insoles are designed to work in Specialized shoes I've heard many people saying they've had a good experience with them in other brands too although a little more trimming is required.

As the sole on the CX190's is pretty stiff I also doubt that the small size of the spd pedals would be an issue. If they were as floppy as a pair of old sandals then maybe the small pedal size could be an issue but thick reinforced plastic soles in cycling shoe... probably not.

Cycling socks tend to be less slippery than running socks, so your feet will move around less inside your shoe if things are not quite snug enough. If may be that you've been using running socks and have been tightening up the shoes to stop 'foot slippage' and unintentionally got things a little too tight.

Packets of mustard? WTF... I could see Monty Pythonesque moments of trying to inhale mustard power while riding and it getting in your eyes and up your nose. If you're imbibing mustard goop from a packet then personally I'd say you're a little wrong in the head and should take up headbutting brickwalls for a hobby. If you're cramping during a 20 mile ride then either your diet is whacked leading you to be deficient in something like potassium, your position on the bike is bad or you have some physical problem that's causing the issue... Your doc could run a few simple tests to verify out the first, the bike shop could take care of the second and seek out the advice of someone who's good with their hands for the latter. You could always try doing appropriate stretches before and after rides.

Unless your average ride is 20 miles up the side of a mountain that climbs 7,000ft then cramping is not normal and shouldn't be expected even if you're grossly unfit.

 

[Bootleg]

Packets of mustard? WTF... I could see Monty Pythonesque moments of trying to inhale mustard power while riding and it getting in your eyes and up your nose. If you're imbibing mustard goop from a packet then personally I'd say you're a little wrong in the head and should take up headbutting brickwalls for a hobby.

I got a nice laugh out of that. It does work though. I'm not going to argue the fact that I'm not right in the head though.....

did a little research and came up with this:

Mustard For years coaches have given mustard to their athletes with leg cramps. Cramps are sometimes caused by a deficiency in acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that stimulates your muscles to work. Mustard has acetic acid, which helps the body make more acetylcholine. Take a spoonful or two of mustard.
Pickle juice As with mustard coaches have given pickle juice to their athletes with leg cramps. Cramps are sometimes caused by a deficiency in acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that stimulates your muscles to work. Pickle juice has acetic acid, which helps the body make more acetylcholine. Take a few ounces of pickle juice.

Don't knock it till you rock it.


I'm getting a full bike fit this so hopefully that will help. I'm also going to have my legs measured and if one is in fact longer than the other I'll have a shim put between my cleat and sole of my shoe to compensate. I have a feeling that's what's causing my issue.

 

[swampy1970]

I got a nice laugh out of that. It does work though. I'm not going to argue the fact that I'm not right in the head though.....

did a little research and came up with this:


Don't knock it till you rock it.


I'm getting a full bike fit this so hopefully that will help. I'm also going to have my legs measured and if one is in fact longer than the other I'll have a shim put between my cleat and sole of my shoe to compensate. I have a feeling that's what's causing my issue.

Yeah... acetic acid is also in the stuff that's used to burn out verrucas and warts - doesn't mean that I wanna eat the stuff though.