Why did this happen?

Pufftmw

Went for a bike ride today in Thetford Forest - it was probably just above freezing with lots of snow, ice and mud :cool:



Anyway, before I left home, I made sure I had something to eat, then because it was cold & would likely expend more energy, had a banana and a nutri type bar before I set off. I was layered up.

About 1/3 of the way into the ride, going through a particularly muddy & puddly section, I got cramps in the back of my right calf. I eased off and concentrated on using my left harder to compensate and got through it. Pain/discomfort left and I carried on until I got to the next tough section and it came back again.

I eased off, dropped a cog and carried on. The cramp continued to a lesser extent for the rest of the ride and sometimes showed potential for coming into the left calf too.

I obviously ate the wrong combination, wrong time, it was too cold, didn't stretch or something - why did this happen?

The ride itself was great! The comibination of sun, snow, mud and scenery was stunning and there were no other cyclists on the trail and only a very few before me (I could tell by the number of tyre tracks lol)

supersonic

Probably the cold combined with not stretching.

commando04

cramp is caused from lack of salt in the body. Depends how hard you push yourself through situations. Try not to eat sweet things before hand, only while riding.

Matt

The Northern Monkey

supersonic wrote:

Probably the cold combined with not stretching.

yar. in the cold weather its much more important to stretch/warm up to avoid achey muscles and cramp.

We had big baby grow boiler suits in the winter when playing rugby... warm up in one of them for 30 mins and it was like boil in the bag!
Didn't get cramp though!

Oh, and eat a banana before your ride, it helps stop cramp

Pufftmw

bigbenj_08 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Oh, and eat a banana before your ride, it helps stop cramp

LOL - I did!!

Cramp notwithstanding, I found the whole ride to zap energy out of me more than usual. Maybe a tad of a hangover didn't help but I felt I went a lot slower than normal.

I also had one of those gore headband things that keep your ears warm - great until you really get going and start sweating whereupon it cools and your forehead gets cold through wind-chill!!! My laces were frozen when I had finished...

The Northern Monkey

Sounds like a great ride!

I'd just put it down to the shitty weather tbh! Think of it as a training ride for the summer haha!

biff55

leg cramps due to no stretching / lack of fluids ( dehydration poss even in freezing temps)
bugger all to do with wot you eat , banana / no banana.

The Northern Monkey

biff55 wrote:

leg cramps due to no stretching / lack of fluids ( dehydration poss even in freezing temps)
bugger all to do with wot you eat , banana / no banana.

Banana's help stop cramp! don't argue

But yeah, fluid and hydration have a lot to do with cramp.

supersonic

Cramp is a term that covers a couple of conditions. One is certainly a lack of electrolytes, which bananas provide a lot of (potassium)

TheNorthernTrain

i get cramp no matter what i do it sucks. I can certianly say its not a fluid issue, i drink like a fish, its not salt - im probably gonna have a heartattack cos of the amount i have had to try and stop cramp.

It sucks big time. Only had it a couple of times while riding and have managed to continue without pain once it subsided. I feel for you!

dave_hill

supersonic wrote:

Cramp is a term that covers a couple of conditions. One is certainly a lack of electrolytes, which bananas provide a lot of (potassium)

Correct, as do tomatoes belive it or not!

You really need to be lookign at how much fluid you are taking on board. Even in cold weather, you need about 1/2 litre of fluids every half hour.

Contrary to popular belief, plain water isn't enough and can actually make things worse by diluting what few electrolytes you have in your system and making you expel them faster. Nuun tablets work for me, but if you don't want to buy anything special, dilute fresh fruit juice (NOT squash) with water (I find 1 part fruit juice to three parts water is good); and add about 1/4 teaspoon full per litre of low-sodium salt which is available from most supermarkets.

You have to make a conscious effort to drink at first until you get used to the routine. If you wait until you are thirsty, then it's too late - you're already dehydrated.

Cut down on coffee (it's the worlds' worst diuretic) and watch your alcohol intake too. If you've been out on a session, take a pint of water with you when you go to bed.

richg1979

id put it down to streching and warm up.

its very rare that i need or have a drink while on a ride unless its a hot day in the summer, and i never have any issues while on a ride i usually get cramp at night while in bed and do a break dance round the room at 3am if iv not streched after a ride.

if your riding in the cold make sure you do some streches esp if the start of the ride is quite hard (uphill) giving no warm up times before hammering muscles.

cheehee

Tonic water sometimes helps mate, as it contains a small amount of quinine.

dave_hill

richg1979 wrote:

its very rare that i need or have a drink while on a ride

That's exactly the point! You DO need to drink, even if you don't feel like it!

richg1979 wrote:

i usually get cramp at night while in bed and do a break dance round the room at 3am

But you don't need to drink during a ride?

I always used to get terrible cramp for a few days after flying - a visit to my doctor confirmed that I was dehydrated. Apparently, aircraft cabins are VERY dry - he advised my to drink plenty before, during and for about an hour after a flight even if I didn't feel like it. Hey presto, no more "cramps" after flying...

richg1979

i used to drink quite a lot on a ride inc electrolites ect and it made no diffrence to my night cramps it just gave me stitch and stomach cramps, same as any other cardio excersise down the gym or running ect, i always get bloated and stitch if i drink during cardio,

i always drink about 4 litres of water through the day but not usually while training.

dave_hill

Just goes to show the unpredictable nature of cramp. It isn't ALWAYS lack of electrolytes, but the majority of it is.

I also used to get night cramps when I used to drink (as in alcohol, I don't drink anything LIKE as much as I used to do...). I can only put the cramps down to the fact that I was more or less unconscious at night, rather than "proper" asleep. In that case it was staying stationery AND dehydration that was causing it.

I think a lot of the feeling bloated and getting stitches is also down to what you're eating and drinking. Again, I used to find that so-called "energy" drinks like Lucozade Sport and so on were WAY too indigestible - my own fruit juice water and salt, and more lately Nuun tablets I can cope with.

forcutty

richg1979 wrote:

i used to drink quite a lot on a ride inc electrolites ect and it made no diffrence to my night cramps it just gave me stitch and stomach cramps, same as any other cardio excersise down the gym or running ect, i always get bloated and stitch if i drink during cardio,

i always drink about 4 litres of water through the day but not usually while training.

I too used too have this and still do if i drink the wrong energy drink.
I swear by 4 in 1 "ZERO" it's brilliant for everything and tastes UM NOM NOM
It's anti cramp and contains no sugar :shock:

oh and no i don't work for them i just think there great.
If anyone on here does work for them can i have some more free samples :?:

Northwind

Riding in snow, if you were on fresh stuff, is incredibly draining... So it could just be that the extra exertion pulled the legs off you?

LoUiS1985

Northwind wrote:

Riding in snow, if you were on fresh stuff, is incredibly draining... So it could just be that the extra exertion pulled the legs off you?

+1

went out for my usual ride last week, and it took me nearly 3 times as long!! :? :shock:

infoxicated

I have nothing to add, really, but there's lots of great tips in this thread - especially given that I intend to start riding earlier this year so I'm fitter for the summer.

Might go out to the garage and fit my full knoblies and new grips now, actually.

Briggo

Snow, in norfolk/suffolk? Where? Theres been a light dusting recently thats it, the most we had was before xmas. Dont use snow as an excuse that you're unfit!