Cramp after cafe stop
MartinGT
Posts: 475
Hi
My brother is having issues of cramp in his legs after a cafe stop whilst riding with his club. Its a weird one and I cant seem to understand why.
Some background.
He has been riding with this club for about a year now and has lost a decent amount of weight and is loving it. He bought a new summer bike second hand which had a few geometry and gear changes compared to the bike he started riding with the club. He has now changed them and on Sunday he was 70km in and had to call his wife to collect him as his legs were shot.
I have told him he needs to ensure he is drinking little and often and asked what he had to eat etc. He has porridge or muesli on a morning and has been having a banana and a coffee at the cafe stop along with either a cake or beans on toast.
I dont know what else I can suggest, something I am missing? It's always after the cafe it seems to be happening.
My brother is having issues of cramp in his legs after a cafe stop whilst riding with his club. Its a weird one and I cant seem to understand why.
Some background.
He has been riding with this club for about a year now and has lost a decent amount of weight and is loving it. He bought a new summer bike second hand which had a few geometry and gear changes compared to the bike he started riding with the club. He has now changed them and on Sunday he was 70km in and had to call his wife to collect him as his legs were shot.
I have told him he needs to ensure he is drinking little and often and asked what he had to eat etc. He has porridge or muesli on a morning and has been having a banana and a coffee at the cafe stop along with either a cake or beans on toast.
I dont know what else I can suggest, something I am missing? It's always after the cafe it seems to be happening.
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Comments
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hydration is only one of the causes of cramp.
I suspect this is due to his muscles contracting from the exercise and then cooling down. He could try a little stretch before he stops for his cafe stop, while the legs are still warm.
e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgEbH31FbWs
When I do ultra distance MTB I always avoid stopping for more than 2 minutes. 2 mins is enough to get some recovery but avoids total cool down. You see people doing 5 and 10 min stops and its a killer to get going again0 -
I never understood all this "cafe stop" nonsense that road cyclists are so eager to buy into.
Unless you're on a day long training ride, why interrupt a ride by sitting and eating cake?!
It seems like madness to me, as someone who have never ever stopped mid ride, other than to repair a puncture etc.
I enjoy cafe's but I prefer to enjoy them appropriately dressed and not with miles of riding immediately before & after!
All feeding and hydration can be done on the bike, drip-feed style througout the entire ride which is far better suited to long ride sustenance/hydration than a mid-ride binge.0 -
Tell him to have a read of this, some interesting things which may apply.
http://www.yellowjersey.co.uk/coffee-stop-cycling/0 -
Secteur wrote:I never understood all this "cafe stop" nonsense that road cyclists are so eager to buy into.
Unless you're on a day long training ride, why interrupt a ride by sitting and eating cake?!
It seems like madness to me, as someone who have never ever stopped mid ride, other than to repair a puncture etc.
I enjoy cafe's but I prefer to enjoy them appropriately dressed and not with miles of riding immediately before & after!
All feeding and hydration can be done on the bike, drip-feed style througout the entire ride which is far better suited to long ride sustenance/hydration than a mid-ride binge.
All of the best cafes are in exotic locations and best enjoyed on a bike.
Fair enough to not stop on a short ride - but if you're out for 4 or 5 hours - you need to eat anyway and it's nicer to have a cake over a handful of gels.0 -
Secteur wrote:I never understood all this "cafe stop" nonsense that road cyclists are so eager to buy into.
Unless you're on a day long training ride, why interrupt a ride by sitting and eating cake?!
It seems like madness to me, as someone who have never ever stopped mid ride, other than to repair a puncture etc.
I enjoy cafe's but I prefer to enjoy them appropriately dressed and not with miles of riding immediately before & after!
All feeding and hydration can be done on the bike, drip-feed style througout the entire ride which is far better suited to long ride sustenance/hydration than a mid-ride binge.
It's a social thing. Ride out and a good laugh then a coffee and a catch up and a ride out. Plus as the weather gets cooler it's a chance to warm up.0 -
I have even started doing it on Zwift if there is a 30min gap between events
Ride for an hour in an event, stop for cake, get back on bike just in time for the next hours event ...... makes it far more realistic !0 -
MartinGT wrote:It's a social thing. Ride out and a good laugh then a coffee and a catch up and a ride out. Plus as the weather gets cooler it's a chance to warm up.
Sitting in your sweaty wet cycle gear ?
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"oooh doesn't Dave's bum look fat today"
"shhhh, he's coming back with the scones"0 -
It must be great being amazing and professional as you guys. I'm in awe of you.0
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That seems way too much food to be eating at a cafe stop, the coffee and banana or cake should be ample IMO, not that I ever do cafe stops TBH.MartinGT wrote:I have told him he needs to ensure he is drinking little and often and asked what he had to eat etc. He has porridge or muesli on a morning and has been having a banana and a coffee at the cafe stop along with either a cake or beans on toast0 -
It's alright Martin, what they mean by "Don't understand this cafe stop stuff" translates to - I ride on my own and don't have any friends.
Nowt wrong with a cafe stop now and then on a ride, miserable lot.0 -
Well if it's good enough for TdF stage winners I'm gonna keep doing it. Anyone not keen on stops - you jog on. More tables free.0
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Has your brother thought about general hydration every day, not just on Sunday club runs? The weather's been unseasonably warm for autumn of late and it's possible his overall water intake hasn't been sufficient (oh and the party season's about to start) :P That plus knocking back a sugar-laden cake plus designer latte at a café stop is probably going to put the hydration/food balance even more out of sync with what the body needs. It can also draw water out the system and leave the body more dehydrated.
For my part I will always try to get something savoury at the café so as not to overload the stomach with excess sugar which needs digesting quickly. Something like a bacon barm with a nice pot of tea does the trick 0 -
Most people would suffer cramps no matter how hydrated they were, if they went for a long ride, sat down for 20-30 mins without stretching, ate a full meal and then got back on the bike.0
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Ignoring the crap that this thread has been infected with, it was a problem I've been having.
The various things I did were: made sure I hydrated the day before a long ride.
Changed my hydration tablets to Nuun, which I now swear by.
Use a foam roller to stretch after a ride. I also got a sports massage on my legs. It's all helped a lot.0
