Cramp

tingle_wayne said:

What is a cramp and how do I get rid of it? I was pushing myself pretty hard yesterday, and both my legs and feet cramped up. I was still a fair distance from my truck, so I slowed down a bit and rode it out, but today I still have sore spots in my muscles.

I thought I knew what cramps were and how to avoid them but when I google'd muscle cramps to test my knowledge , I was rather surprised. Different things cause them, not just over exertion. .....basically from what I read, overexertion depletes a muscle's oxygen supply, leading to build up of waste product and spasm. When a cramp begins, the spinal cord stimulates the muscle to keep contracting.
things that can lead to the cramping are possibly:::
Muscle fatigue
Heavy exercise
Dehydration
Hypothyroidism
Depleted magnesium or calcium stores or other metabolic abnormalities
Alcoholism
Kidney failure leading to uremia
Medications

I found a rather good site with all of this information on it:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=270&topcategory=General%20Information

The literature says to stretch the affected area and to hydrate. ((( If its hot out and I am really sweating , I eat salt, or electrolyte tablets with my water/sports drink. That has always helped me. )))

To avoid future cramps, work toward better overall fitness. Do regular flexibility exercises before and after you work out to stretch muscle groups most prone to cramping. Always warm up before stretching and you should also keep your body adequately hydrated.

to:: Drink water at regular intervals, before you get thirsty.
Drink more than your thirst requires.
Drink fruit juice or a sports beverage if you are working in heat or sweating for more than an hour.

tingle_wayne said:

What is a cramp and how do I get rid of it? I was pushing myself pretty hard yesterday, and both my legs and feet cramped up. I was still a fair distance from my truck, so I slowed down a bit and rode it out, but today I still have sore spots in my muscles.

did hear that it can be caused by lack of magnesium though in this case it sounds more like a build up of lactic acid due to your muscles going anerobic .
You could try isotonic drinks on longer rides ( more than 90 mins ) but this happens to the pros as well if they push it too hard .
Stop , stretch etc as the other guy said .
as for faster recovery - ride the next morning and hopefully the GENTLE exercise will help flush out the lactic acid , funny enough also what the pros do . ( this is also true for any sport / gym work etc , cramps go fastest when you do it again - though I´ve always sworn at lemon juice , honey and a pinch of salt , to be drunk first thing next day before returning to the torture chamber )