Killer leg cramps hours after a ride

Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year. (Other years I had this problem more frequently)

I'm a 48 year old guy who rides 5 times a week on average. I'm not
particularly fast, and have riden around 3100 Km so far this year.
60 Km is a bit longer than my usual ride, although I do an occasional
100 Km without difficulty.

What can I do to avoid cramps like these. The pain was way off the
charts...

I get cramps that may be similar. Usually in my feet or hamstring. I have
found myself sitting bolt-upright in a movie theatre scrambling past others
trying to walk it out. Samething has happened during meetings--very
disruptive! For me, stretching and good hydration make the difference.


"Keith Boone" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...
Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year. (Other years I had this problem more frequently)

I'm a 48 year old guy who rides 5 times a week on average. I'm not
particularly fast, and have riden around 3100 Km so far this year.
60 Km is a bit longer than my usual ride, although I do an occasional
100 Km without difficulty.

What can I do to avoid cramps like these. The pain was way off the
charts...

"Keith Boone" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...
Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year. (Other years I had this problem more frequently)

I've had the same thing and I'm a fair bit younger. For me, it
was fixed by keeping more hydrated during rides and not
drinking so many diuretics on days prior to riding.

hth
hippy

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 03:40:26 GMT, MisNomer wrote:

shortage of potasium.... eat a banana.

take care
Liz



Yep- bananas.

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 01:46:43 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Keith
Boone wrote:

Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year.

your electrolytes are probably low! how much and what are you
drinking during these rides? you need to drink some athletic
drink like gatorade or powerade to restore your electrolytes.
low potassium is often the culprit --- bananas are a good source.

Dennis P. Harris wrote:
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 01:46:43 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Keith
Boone wrote:


Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year.


your electrolytes are probably low! how much and what are you
drinking during these rides? you need to drink some athletic
drink like gatorade or powerade to restore your electrolytes.
low potassium is often the culprit --- bananas are a good source.




I drink water. Two of those large water bottles on this ride. I
guess I can try one of those sports drinks. It wasn't very hot, and
I was not sweating a lot. Is it "normal" for the cramps to hit hours
after a ride? Years ago when I did more riding I would sometimes
cramp up during a hard section of hills, but yesterday I felt terrific
through the whole ride. Makes me a little nervous about going again
today... (I'm leaving in a half hour anyway!)

"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 03:40:26 GMT, MisNomer wrote:

shortage of potasium.... eat a banana.

take care
Liz



Yep- bananas.

Potassium has not been shown to help prevent cramps. It's a pretty good bike
food, except that it schmooshes easily and upsets some stomachs.

"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 01:46:43 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Keith
Boone wrote:

Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year.

your electrolytes are probably low! how much and what are you
drinking during these rides? you need to drink some athletic
drink like gatorade or powerade to restore your electrolytes.
low potassium is often the culprit --- bananas are a good source.

Latest research has shown this to not be true. Sodium depletion is a greater
problem than potassium, but even that isn't likely to happen until 12 hr or
more of heavy sweating. "Sports" drinks don't have enough salts to even keep
up with sweating, and even the manufacturer's inflated claims don't claim
this. The added sodium is there to increase absorption rate of the water from
your intestine.

"Keith Boone" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...
Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year. (Other years I had this problem more frequently)

I'm a 48 year old guy who rides 5 times a week on average. I'm not
particularly fast, and have riden around 3100 Km so far this year.
60 Km is a bit longer than my usual ride, although I do an occasional
100 Km without difficulty.

What can I do to avoid cramps like these. The pain was way off the
charts...

Cramps are a result of over-exertion. Significant dehydration may make them
somewhat more likely. The best preventative is to back off the intensity a
little, and/or train more. After cramps strike, stretching and massage are
about the only remedies.

"Brian Wax" wrote in message link.net...
I get cramps that may be similar. Usually in my feet or hamstring. I have
found myself sitting bolt-upright in a movie theatre scrambling past others
trying to walk it out. Samething has happened during meetings--very
disruptive! For me, stretching and good hydration make the difference.

try a homeopath the ones near me cost about 150 an hour

"I like that :-)
Going nowhere in particular, except perhaps attempting to become the best
darn dancer you can be, which is a goal, but an underlying one rather than a
straightforwardly obvious one."--laura