Leg cramp question

[cwodiva]

Hey ladies,
I just posted in the getting to know you, so I guess I got the introductions out of the way. I have a leg cramp question for ya'll. Lately I've been getting leg cramps in the middle portion of my long rides (i.e. mile 40 of mile 55). I just moved to Florida and it is a lot hotter here than in Georgia. (I've been riding for about 4 years now) I drink a lot on my ride, a bottle an hour of sports drink. Sometimes the rides get pretty intense, more like road races, am I cramping because of just working harder than I'm used to or do I need to drink more? It happens mostly on the front part of my thighs upper to lower, almost to knee. I can usually ride through it, but I really lose power and have to slow down. What do ya'll do to avoid leg cramps?

Steph

[Tiffany]

First, welcome to the board. I'm new here myself but have found that I'm already hooked. Are you drinking plenty of water BEFORE you ride? Some people forget that we should pre-hydrate before a ride as well. If we wait until we're already riding sometimes it's too late. Also, depending on how hot it really is (it's 104 here today with high humidity), I can go through 2 water bottles per hour on my rides.

[Ninabike]

I had that happen to me and another rider pointed out that riding in too high a gear can cause cramping in the inner thigh. Spinning is better than mashing. BTW, welcome to the board!!

[NJBikeGal]

Bananas, bananas, bananas...or any other way to get potassium into your system. I have teammates that swear by chewing on Tums, also...supposedly it helps to avoid cramping.

[SouthernBelle]

You can definitely sweat out potassium. Find a sportsdrink with potassium in addition to the other things mentioned here.

[batsheva]

the so called sports drinks do not have proper quantities of electrolytes in them-- I just buy Pedialyte from the baby aisle at the supermarket and that has the physiological sugar and electrolyte balance appropriate for replacement - babies have same electrolyte quantities as we do. Plus is quite cheap and often on 2 for 1 special at the supermarket-- I have out i bottle water and i bottle Pedialyte on my bike here in Orlando and no probs with cramps or stuff since.

batsheva

[TsPoet]

Calcium and/or divalent cations. They are needed for muscle contraction. This question comes up a lot, many of us have trouble with cramping. I think we all have our own answer. For me, calcium. Not Tums or other meds, calcium (why take a medication you don't need?). I've noted that a lot of sports drinks and electrolyte replacements have calcium as a major ingredient.
What works for me:
1) take a calcium/Magnesium/Vit D tablet right before a ride, and then every 50 miles or so (I like Citrical, but not sure any other brand wouldn't be just as good)
2) hydrate
3) Stretch - lightly before a ride and do a good job after the ride to lessen the cramps next time. I also stretch on the bike - in a downhill section pedal backwards to a place where you feel a stretch on the muscle in question if you can (for me it's my calves, so I just push the heal down while using the other leg to push on the pedal to give resistance).

Another thing you might try is endurolytes - many of my long distance riding guy friends swear by the stuff. Interestingly, it contains a lot of calcium. But, it has a lot of other things in it, too.