Maybe he was just REALLY happy to see you.
 
Quote from FlyingLaZBoy on Apr 17^th, 2014, 7:18am:

Just being low on power doesn't mean you need more magnesium. It's when your muscles can't release and you are becoming more rigid and inflexible than you normally are (or should be).
 
If you are riding more than about three hours, yes, you almost certainly need calories. There are several stages your body goes through in burning different types of fuel, from what is easiest to convert to ATP to what is hardest. When you burn through readily-available fuel and keep going, you eventually get down to where you start burning your own muscles as a last resort. You don't want that. I'd say that if you are riding for more than two hours at a moderate pace, or less than that at a hard pace, you should be taking in at *least* 150-200 calories per hour (people vary substantially). That means primarily carbs with electrolytes, protein and complex sugars in the right amounts. Easiest when mixed with your water.

Cramps usually mean you are low on electolytes.  Lactic acid is produced by your muscles to be used as fuel as the last resort I mentioned. Maybe you ran out of easier fuel and were eating your muscles towards the end of the ride. Cramps can also uccur because you are taking in too much sugar and your stomach backs up and refuses to accept any more water or fuel thus restricting the intake of electrolytes. Need more info to suggest anything else.

Respond all you want J, make excuses, but never, never consider AGE!!!  

Dave needs to get in here and post to you goatstick.  He is a horrible cramper!  He take a mag supplement, refuels on rides with Clif Gel, or Clif bars, runs Nuun tabs in his water bottles, and also takes the Hammer Endurolytes.  None of it helps.  Now I will say the mag pills have gotten rid of his night time leg cramps, which is a benefit I guess, but a minor one.
 
(Note, Dave is an insulin dependent T2 diabetic)

Yep, like Monkeywrangler says I cramp up if someone just looks at me cross-eyed on a ride.
 
I use/used Hammer Enduralytes, Nunn tabs, Gatoraid G2, and even plain old water for fluid replacement.  I usually push enough fluids that I stop and water every tree, bush, and weedy spot for the first 20-30 miles.
 
Calorie replacement is usually Cliff bars or Cliff gels with mixed nuts for protein.  I'll eat fresh fruit and PB&J sandwiches on organized rides if available.  I used to use Cliff Roks when I could get them as they had a nice balance of carbs and proteins but they were discontinued.
 
I've found one surefire cure for on ride cramps however and that is pickle juice, preferably zesty dill pickle juice.  I've been known to freeze a small gatoraid bottle of it and sip from it during stops, nasty, but it works.
 
I'd love to find a way to beat the cramps for good other than riding around with a bottle of pickles that is.
 
Goatstick, what drink mix are you running to give you the calorie and electrolyte replacement?  I'm wide open to suggestions as I am desperate to get back to some longer miles.
 
Semper Fi

Quote from dd5339 on Apr 22^nd, 2014, 7:34pm:
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Quote:

If this is all it takes to stop cramps, I would suggest that you need to take a hard look at your diet, on and off the bike. Also, Cliff bars, etc. really aren't (imo) that great a source of fuel. They are a mainly an expensive convenience. Most of us who do distance racing/training have tried pretty much all of the convenience foods like that and gave them up.
 
Pick up almost any book at the library or bookstore about cycle training to get some good ideas about a proper diet for cycliing. For on-bike fuel, I'd recommend you take a look at liquid diets. If you are riding something like 250+ miles a week, then maybe it's time to take a look at the liquid diets more closely. You can do it yourself (fairly cheaply), buy it ready-made (fairly expensively), or do a mix somewhere in-between.
 
On the low end of a liquid diet, you could buy glucose ploymers in bulk (maltodextrin) for carbohydrates (not as sweet as std glucose), whey protein powder, various sources for electrolytes (like Emergen-C). Mid-range, you can get a possibly better mix of glucose polymers in products such as Carbo-Pro and mix the others. Expensively, you can try the Hammer or Infinit products.
 
It sounds to me as though you really need to get your everyday diet fixed first and you may not need the other stuff, especially for rides less than 100 miles. I have a fairly strict diet which I actually really like, but I've spent a number of years working on it. In my case I'm, a celiac so had to completely cut out all gluten products. It now appears that gluten foods (especially pastas) are not all that great for cyclists as they appear to require almost as much energy for many of us to burn as they provide so not much net gain. If they are so difficult to digest, what might that suggest?
 
Except for carb-loading, very simply:
http://ultracycling.com/sections/articles/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/259070-nutrition-plan-for-cycling/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/557536-the-truth-about-gluten-allergies/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/557977-the-worst-fitness-advice-of-all-time/
(cooked oatmeal is a great early breakfast before a ride. I throw in an egg, a half-teaspoon of magnesium powder and a little bit of honey)
 
I have a few issues with this one but it's generally fairly decent advice:
http://www.eatingfree.com/newtrition/nutripedia/did-you-know/nutrition-for-endur ance-cycling.aspx
 
On bike, I'd look for nutrition but not sweets. Something that is somewhat bland in terms of sweetness. Something your stomach won't reject when it's tired and overworked. People think I'm crazy but after a hard 24hr race where I'm taking in ~240 Calories per hour, my stomach is the most tired thing in my body. It feels completely worn out from having to process so much fuel for so long, and I'm feeding it about the easiest-to-digest stuff there is.