# This Years Solvang Century



## Marcus75 (Feb 17, 2004)

Just did the Solvang Century. But the cold wind was brutal! I was actually cramping up like crazy. I was talking with several other riders and they experienced the same thing? This is the first time I cramped up like this? I was kind of reserving my water supply because I didn't want to run out before the finish line. Any tips on how to combat bad cramps during a century ride. How did some of you guys do in Solvang?


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## mjdwyer23 (Mar 18, 2009)

Marcus75 said:


> Just did the Solvang Century. But the cold wind was brutal! I was actually cramping up like crazy. I was talking with several other riders and they experienced the same thing? This is the first time I cramped up like this?* I was kind of reserving my water supply* because I didn't want to run out before the finish line. Any tips on how to combat bad cramps during a century ride. How did some of you guys do in Solvang?


Might have to do with this. Colder weather makes your body work harder to maintain its core temp to begin with. Couple that with a large energy expenditure like riding a hilly century, and you can easily run out of fuel or under-hydrate. How much did you eat on the ride?


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## GerryR (Sep 3, 2008)

Cramping is often a sign of dehydration. You probably didn't consume enough water. Why did you need to conserve, isn't water available on the route?


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## gtran1502 (Aug 20, 2008)

I only did the half since it was my second ride on a tandem bike. Some of those in my party indicated that they didn't have much supplies left at the last couple sag stops. I think they didn't have any electrolyte powder.


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## GerryR (Sep 3, 2008)

It sounds like they weren't well prepared, but I prefer Nuun so I always carry some tablets with me since most rides will provide Gatorade or Accelerade if they provide an electrolyte replacement drink at all.


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## gtran1502 (Aug 20, 2008)

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed when they told me about it since I registered them as a Christmas gift and told them that SAG support would provide them with everything they needed to complete their first official century. I was wrong......


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## GerryR (Sep 3, 2008)

gtran1502 said:


> . . . SAG support would provide them with everything they needed to complete their first official century.


I never make that assumption about rides, although I might about the STP since you can actually gain weight on that ride. Probably the same with RAGBRAI and a couple of others around the country, but in general I plan to be carry what I need, except for water beyond the 44 ounces I start with.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Marcus75 said:


> I was kind of reserving my water supply because I didn't want to run out before the finish line.


Never try to conserve water on a ride. The rule is that if you are thirsty, it's already too late. And especially don't try to conserve on a supported ride where water is only a few miles away. As I recall Solvang, in all the times I've done it, the last rest stop is within 10 miles of the finish, so I can't imagine how you would run out, unless you weren't filling your bottles. On a century, you should have two bottles, you should top off those bottles at every rest stop, and you should drink it all if you can.


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## gtran1502 (Aug 20, 2008)

GerryR said:


> I never make that assumption about rides, although I might about the STP since you can actually gain weight on that ride. Probably the same with RAGBRAI and a couple of others around the country, but in general I plan to be carry what I need, except for water beyond the 44 ounces I start with.


Yeah, it was my mistake. I think I was spoiled when I participated in last year's king of the mountains series. I carried everything I needed for the first event only to learn that they provided everything I would need and more. I stopped carrying so much stuff on the 2nd and 3rd event in the series 

GT


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## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

while it was sort of cold, the wind blew through my PI fleece leg warmers enough
to put me right on the edge of cramping most of the first half of the ride. my upper
body was fine(DeSoto trisuit, Lounge jersey, PI LS fleece jersey, PI wind vest,
Craft full finger gloves, craft goretex beanie). windproof fleece tights would have
been the ticket for me. when i started, it was only about 45F, so yeah it was a
cold morning.

i drank a mixture of my usual(Perpetuum and Heed) through the first two sag stops until
i decided to try the provided SPIZ powder. (SPIZ really worked for me; not only did
it prevent any more cramping, but it gave me a ton of energy and a weird mental
sharpness i have not experienced while riding. upon reviewing the ingredient list,
i see that it has everything the Hammer products have and more. will have to try it
again on one of my own rides...) - i agree with everybody else, no reserving water
unless you're riding unsupported in a place you're not familiar with, and even then
you should drink regularly even it's just a mouthful.

anyway, back to the ride: each of the sag stops seemed to have lots of water and
huge containers of SPIZ, tons of bananas, oranges, pineapples, peanuts, M&Ms,
and probably PB&J(which i can't eat 'cause of the wheat). of course, i was probably
ahead of you so, i cna't speak for inventory later in the day at each stop.

once we turned back towards the south, things were better for me, although it took
a long time for my legs to recover. the Wall was not as steep as people made it sound
and the hill after it was actually steeper and windiing, but shorter and still not too bad.

you should be happy you finished, it was not an easy ride.


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## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

> Any tips on how to combat bad cramps during a century ride.


Since the ride was unusually hard, I think the cramping was probably more related to muscle fatigue. Exceed significantly the level of your difficult training workouts (volume and/or intensity) and cramps often follow, no matter how much you drink during the ride.


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

AdamM said:


> Since the ride was unusually hard, I think the cramping was probably more related to muscle fatigue. Exceed significantly the level of your difficult training workouts (volume and/or intensity) and cramps often follow, no matter how much you drink during the ride.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
that's it


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