Quite possibly the worst combination....



ryan_tran03

New Member
Apr 24, 2010
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Imagine:

The first ride of the year (I'm a bit late but the weather has been horrible lately????).

You're excited to get back in shape and you're cruising down the road with some new clipless pedals/shoe combination.
Suddenly, you get a massive cramp in BOTH of your calves. You're losing momentum...

That's how my first ride of the year went haha. I fell twice and got a nice little battle wound on my right knee, the first time to cramps and the second time to pure stupidity (I forgot I was clipped in).

Remedies anyone???

I really don't want to embarrass myself infront of a group of girls again lol. They pulled up, and 3 of them laughed in the car and one really nice girl got out and helped me up.../img/vbsmilies/smilies/drool.gif (that smiley probably doesn't fit the situation... it's been a while since my last post haha)

- Tran
 
Loosen up the tension on your pedals. I have not fallen for decades (unless I crashed).

I am old. I think I will start falling in front of cute girls.
 
Hey an Old Guy, do you buy any chance use SPD-SL pedals??? It seems like I already have it really x3 low for tension.

Haha... I recommend falling in front of them lol. It was pretty nice I guess...
 
You just have to get use to them, it takes some time. When I first rode clipped in was about 10 yrs ago. I rode my bike to school, 50lb back pack full of books, I thought I was the coolest guy on campus until I stopped infront of one of the buildings and fell over. Tons of people were walking by going to class and I am laying on the ground, kicking trying to get unclipped with a 50lb back pack on, LOL.

I come close to falling from time to time now, but it is because I like to track stand at intersections, sometimes I push my luck and almost don't get unclipped. I ride speedplays which IMO are much more difficult to unclip from than SPDs
 
We all have stories about the woes of clip less peddles. Not to worry. Practice, Practice and more Practice. Start unclipping before you stop. Not usually important to unclip both feet, just don't lean the wrong direction. Good luck.
 
Actually, now that it's been a couple of weeks I'm actually surprised how convenient clipless pedals are.
They're actually kinda nice to have once you get used to them lol... and Phil85207 thanks for the leaning tip, it saved me from
scratching my car haha.

Could I ask what you guys do before you go on a ride? Every once and a while I still get cramps or feel like I'm tightening up to one. It's less frequent now that I've really started riding more, but when it happens it really gets annoying.
 
Check out this thread. http://www.cyclingforums.com/forum/thread/484714/what-do-you-fill-your-bottle-with-and-how-do-you-recover-from-lethargy-after-the-ride

This has been ongoing for about a month now with a lot of good suggestions. But if you are getting cramps, then you may have low potassium levels. You lose potassium when you sweat. A banana is a great source of potassium plus carbs. There are a lot of good sports drinks that contain potassium. Just look for it in the list of ingredients.

Ryan, you don't happen to live near Cincinnati, do you? I saw a fallen cyclist being helped up by a pretty girl last week when I was driving home after work. I considered stopping but she already had him on his feet and I figured that he was embarrassed enough. Falling is common while getting used to cleats.
 
Thanks kdelong. Exactly what I've been looking for, awesome!

As for living near Cincinnati, nope. I'm more around the Findlay, OH country-side... like 3-4 hours away from Cincinnati. lol, I fell almost a month ago, and I'm definitely empathizing with that poor soul right now... It's no fun being embarrassed in front of girls hahaha. I guess it might be a common occurrence in Ohio or something?

How exactly would you be able to combat that "throwing up" feeling? It feels like "air in your stomach" or gas? The worst part of not being a school athlete is that there really is no other way to learn things like this. Lately, I've been trying to up my speed and I feel God-awful afterward. Actually, I got a glimpse of school cafeteria - beef-potatoe casserole after it's been propelled from my face a couple weeks ago. not. pretty. So if there's any way, chime in. Hopefully this thread will help other "non-atheletes" with these little nuances.
 
If you are feeling nauseous after a ride, it may be that you ate too much before your ride. Before your ride, eat a light meal and then wait for 30 - 45 minutes prior to riding if possible. During digestion, more of your blood supply is diverted to your digestive tract for its task at hand so there is less going to your muscles for cycling. 30 - 45 minutes sort of evens it out.

If you are already eating modestly prior to your ride, you should eat something with carbs during your ride, something like a banana maybe? Or a power bar or Gu gel or whatever you like that has carbs in it. I prefer fruit because there are no wrappers that need to be carried home to be disposed of, and things like apple cores are biodegradable so you can pretty much throw it into the bushes. Insects and small furry animals love when you do that. It may be that when you are "upping your speed", you are getting close to bonking which is a slang term for carbohydrate depletion. Nausea is a symptom that you are nearing a bonk.

If you feel awful after a ride, it is probably because you are not recovering properly. I suppose that you hydrate while you are riding. Continue hydrating after your ride for awhile with a drink that contains carbs. You want to replace some of the carbs that your body used for fuel while you were riding. Also you need to consume some protein. You have just finished exercising your muscles which causes minor muscular damage and your body needs the protein to repair the damage and revamp your muscle structures to handle the increased stress that you are putting on them.

By the way, if you are trying to increase your speed, the best and easiest way of doing this is by riding intervals. Search the Cycling Training forum for interval training and you will easily find out how to do it. Intervals are not a lot of fun, but they are the best way of increasing your speed without ending the day feeling awful.
 
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Originally Posted by ryan_tran03 .

Hey an Old Guy, do you buy any chance use SPD-SL pedals??? It seems like I already have it really x3 low for tension.

Haha... I recommend falling in front of them lol. It was pretty nice I guess...
SPD SL pedals require a very deliberate release action; not just swinging your heel outwards. You also need to push down as you swing your heel. They do get smoother as you wear them in
 
kdelong, your advice is definitely the best advice I've ever gotten on forums. I've been able to feel "good" about my ride and I've noticed my average speed go up one mile per hour haha... not much but something. Every once and a while I'll hit a stump on hills, as the part of Ohio I'm in is completely flat farmland, but I'm still working on that.

rparedes, do you have your cleats a little "off center?" One of the issues that I had when installing was that I didn't know if there was a "special" way to put the cleat. the first time i fell, my cleats didn't really match my feet, but now that I've set them off center where my feet usually have a natural position, it's a lot easier to clip out. The deliberate push really helps but i'm just wondering if there is a "wrong" way to set the cleats...?
 
Dumb question from a -once used toe cages- , an old guy here of fifty seven, who asks,

what do you do if you find yourself flying through the air,
still attached to your bike, and you want to unclip, how do you do it?
 

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