I don’t really get cramping.  I’ve always cramped.  My friend Ed Bauman, who was partially responsible for getting me into cycling, used to call cramps Charlie horses.  Ed would cramp famously.

We were doing a road race down in Arkansas City and Ed was riding the long race.  He was probably a Cat 3 at the time.  I finished the young juniors race and Kris had done the “real” juniors race and we took the VW pickup out to try to feed Ed.  We found Ed and he was pretty done.

He said that he was cramping and it was super painful.  Next thing I know, both Ed’s legs are seized up and he coasts to a stop and falls over.  I jump out of the VW to run to Ed.  He is laying on the ground screaming.  But he isn’t screaming because of cramping, he’s screaming because it is 100 + degrees out and the pavement is scalding.  I didn’t have any shoes on and just when I get about to Ed, my feet are burning, so I have to run off the road and just watch.  Kris gets out, with shoes and gets Ed up off the pavement.  It was ugly.

Anyway, cramping is a very had thing to figure out.  Exercise physiologists have their ideas about why athletes cramp, but most are wrong.  Each athlete has their own observations too, which most are just out there.

Yesterday, I knew I was going to cramp.  It was going to be over 6 hours and one of the first hot rides I’ve done.  Plus, it was all on gravel, which meant a bunch of harder pedaling.

I didn’t cramp bad.  Actually, I really didn’t cramp at all while riding.  I felt like I was going to, but kind of kept them at bay.  I actually carried a baggy of electrolyte tables, which I ate religiously. That didn’t really help.  And I drank a ton, at least for me.  In 112 miles, I drank at least 8 big bottles, plus 2 28 ounce Gatorades and a cup of coffee.  That is about as much as I could have consumed, considering where we were riding and the availability of liquids.

Not cramping while riding is one thing, but after is another.  All evening, into the night, I was twitching.  I’m getting cramps in weird places, not normal places, this year.  Historically, I’ve had sartorius muscle, both legs.  Then sometime in my left hamstring.  This year I’ve been getting foot cramps, plus cramps in my calves and sometimes even in my hands.  Weird.  These cramps aren’t  nearly as debilitating as a hamstring cramp, but they are still ugly.

When I’m not riding good, I tend to cramp a lot more.  Yesterday, that was the case.  I’ve been in a funk the past couple weeks and cramping comes with funk.  Heat, funk and distance usually is the recipe for cramping for me.

We ended up with 112 miles yesterday.  I think Brian had over 130.  My brother went out on an early ride and then rode again after.  I’m not sure what he ended up with but he said he was trying to break his record day of 171.  I’m sure he did it.  I’d bet he ended up with close to 200.  I don’t really have a desire to ride that far.  Especially in training.  My butt would be too sore.

My legs still have those phantom cramps this morning.  They feel like they want to cramp, but aren’t.  Sometimes that lasts for days.  I hope not this time.

Changing the subject, how about calling Peter Sagan win in the overall in the Tour of California. I predicted it on Saturday, after he won the time trial.  He won by a tire width, getting the 3rd place bonus at the finish yesterday.  That was closer than I thought it was going to be.   I thought he would have had it wrapped up by the time bonus, but Cavendish and company did a very good job at protecting the led.  Just not enough.

The Giro is on its first rest day.  That race has been good to watch in the morning.  Aru is pretty aggressive, plus Astana is stupid strong.  Sometimes they have 6 guys left when Contador is pretty much on his own.  That might ultimately make the difference in this race, I don’t know. Crazy it is just the end of the first week.

Okay, I have to decide what I’m doing the next couple weeks.  I don’t feel like I have any form to race, but know I need to race to get form to race.   Strange how that is.  I’ll figure it out in the next couple days I guess.

It rained so much on Saturday night. The river is so full. Usually there are sandbars here.

The roads were sometimes nearly underwater yesterday. We had to deviate around some low water bridges.

We flatted a ton yesterday. Eric flatted 3 times, me too. I hate stopping for flats on a hot day.

We moved a couple turtles yesterday. This was the first snapping turtle I’ve encountered that wasn’t as mean as hell. The one earlier, bit through a 2 inch stick I was using to push it off the road.

Trudi took this photo after the Tour of California yesterday.

One of the most unique aspects of the sport of cycling is that athletes of different abilities, like way different abilities, can train together.  Wind resistance and drafting make this possible.  I love it.

As long as there aren’t any huge climbs then the group can stay together and everyone can get a good workout.  And by that, I mean that the strong guys can be at the front, doing most of the work, while less strong riders enjoy the ride.

There is no place on group rides for individuals doing intervals, even though I’ve been on some group rides recently where pretty good riders, pros or Cat 1’s, do just that.  Maybe it’s an old school deal, but if you need to do intervals, then go do them on your on and skip the group ride.  Group rides are for a group of riders, not a bunch of individuals doing intervals.

I guess that last sentence should be the definition of a group ride.  Plus, the group, as a whole, needs to look out for the interests of the whole group.  This only works for a manageable sized group, probably under 15 riders.  Once it gets over 20 for sure, then it can really turn into a free-for-all, and that doesn’t do anyone any good.

My whole intention on an organized group ride is to try to get everyone to the end of the ride together, with everyone on the ride thinking they got the best workout from the ride. This is possible, once again, through drafting.

Our group rides, here in Topeka, have turned into a little of a free-for-all recently.  Not always, but maybe once every two weeks.  I’ve participated in one of those, which, after the fact, I regretted, but usually, I’m intent on restoring order to the ride.

I think a good evening ride needs a least one guy there, each day, that is responsible for sort of containing the personalities of the group.  Trying to keep everyone in check until it is near enough the end where there are no-holds-barred.

Our rides, here in Topeka, are usually pretty controlled.  They are not no drop rides, they are just look out for other rider rides.  We usually just ride two abreast most of the ride until we’re somewhere around 10 miles from the “finish”.  Nearly every way we come back into town, there is a “sprint”.  There aren’t really city limit signs around Topeka, so it’s a BP station, or a mailbox,  stop ahead sign, or something that everyone has historically agreed upon.

We someone gets antsy and takes off before what seems normal, then it throws a wrench into things.  Normally, we don’t start going hard before all the hills are done.  Hills kill weak rider’s chances of getting to the end of the ride.  So, “breaking away” for the group before what is the imaginary start line, is kind of a no-no.  But, it happens.

At this point, it’s up to the remaining guys to not get out of sorts and just keep the tempo high. High enough to not let the lone guy/or guys, to too far ahead, but slow enough to keep everyone together.  It’s a fine line.

Anyway, I used to only do group rides.  I’d probably ride maybe only a couple times a month on my own.  Now, after getting hurt the past couple years, I’ve been riding more on my own.  It is sort of surprising.  For years only riding with groups and realizing I actually just like riding my bike alone.  It is nice.

That being said, I think riding in a group is super important if you want to succeed at the sport. Group rides are where you get the necessary skills to be able to race bicycles.  There is too much emphasis on power training now and not enough emphasis on the skill aspect of the sport.

The skill aspect is very, very important too.   And you get those skills from organized group rides.

This is a ride I did out in North County, California, with Joseph Schmalz, Robin Carpenter and Adam Mills, plus a few others. A nice organized group, no one trying to show off, just getting in the miles.