Originally Posted by Clyde1820

Back in the day, with distance running training, I used to have the occasional mild to moderate cramping in a calf, rarely with a hamstring. Vastly boosted my stretching regimen, on all of the hip and leg related muscles ... and, so long as I was well hydrated, I almost never experienced cramping again.

Sufficient fueling pre-workout helped. Sufficient electrolytes in the fluids during workouts helped. But no matter what else I did, if I wasn't extremely limber for the level of performance I was attempting to do, then there was a fair chance of a cramp.

Can't say that I ever went after "performance" cycling, so I can't say the same factors would translate from hard distance running to cycling. But I can't see why not. Same body, same basic nutritional intake, same basic hydration, same basic distance and intensity ... varying only the degree of stretching (from mild, in the pre-cramping days, to heavy and all over, in the post-cramping days). Worked pretty darned well.

Of course, hard performance running, particularly on hillier routes, involves the calves quite a bit. They'd better be up to the challenge, strength-wise and in terms of flexibility. Along with the foot/ankle muscles, hams, quads, glutes, adductors, abductors. I'd suggest evaluating the level of flexibility and stamina-related strength you have in your cycling-oriented leg/hip muscles, to see if you've got sufficient stretching as part of your regimen. Might help reduce the incidence.