rsbob 

I know this has been beaten to death, but let’s take another whack at it. The article states that the reason for muscle cramps are unknown by medical professionals, but the one thing they have found that is effective is: https://apple.news/A6feny7o6Tq2Buu9ofHa7uw

I can get them after or during a long hot ride, at night if I really tax myself. Been a pickle juice believer for over a year.

Fahrenheit531 

Right on, the answer is in the initial post! Done and done.

noimagination

1. Vary cadence and PE (perceived effort) during a ride. If I spin too high a cadence for too long I get one type of cramping, but if I mash for too long I get another type of cramping. Basically, avoid overstressing particular muscle groups.
2. Hydrate during ride.
If cramping or incipient cramping occur, then:
3. Self massage immediately following ride. With or without embrocation/Bengay/Theraworx/etc. (but, generally without).
4. Self massage just before bed. With or without embrocation/Bengay/Theraworx/etc. (but, generally with).
5. Take it easy (no higher than Z3) on subsequent ride, or two.

Yes, pickle juice too (if I have it on hand). I like pickles, but it's not something that's part of my regular diet, so I generally eat a couple while I'm at it.
This is what's worked for me. YMMV.

Paul Barnard

I don't have much self-respect, but I do have too much to subject myself to pickle juice. Thankfully SportLegs supplement gets it done for me.

Shadco 

Pickle juice + Sports Legs work.

.

CAT7RDR

Just an overall strength and conditioning program is what works for me.
Incorporating hiking in the hills to strengthen the posterior chain.
Deadlifts, squats, lunges, core work and shoulder presses and curls/reverse curls all help to prevent muscle fatigue when cycling.

Juan Foote

Even back when riding very regularly, doing 60+ miles a day a few times a week (or more) there was a point I would reach EVERY TIME right around 80 miles where cramps would set in, and I just never was able to stave them off. I believed a great deal that my own issue related to poor discipline about stopping to eat and intake fluids and salts early in my rides. At the very top form of my riding the absolute farthest I was ever able to ride was ~93 miles and even AT that was helped significantly by a couple of other riders in the club encouragement and cheering me on. By the time I got back to the car I absolutely could not move one leg anymore and had to be helped off the bike. In a way, that ride was never official because I neglected to get back to the starting point which was actually inside the racetrack a few hundred (more) yards away. My previous best had only been a few miles shorter than that before having to retire to the SAG wagon. My biggest issue related to my glute on one side. Other issue would be having that crazy arch cramp late in the night on hard days, particularly in the heat.

noimagination

Funny, my century "wall" is at about mile 80, as well. If I can make it past that, I'm normally fine for the rest of the ride.

Broctoon

I love dill pickles, although I don't eat them often. Starting several years ago when I learned they are believed to be helpful at preventing muscle soreness/cramps, I started eating them after any long or strenuous ride. Can't say whether they actually make a difference, but if they don't, I'm not really out anything.

At one of the feed stops on a century gran fondo that I rode a few weeks ago, they had pickle juice shots. Yummy!

downtube42

I use a combination of self-inflicted passive-aggressive behavior (I ignore the cramp and pretend it isn't there, expecting it will give up and go away) and profanity (Is that all you*&%#@ GOT, you POS?).

Works quite well. Never had a cramp that didn't go away. 100% effective. Only slightly more bizarre than drinking pickle juice.

Broctoon

I’ve seen headset top caps etched with “Shut up, legs!” and I think runners’ t-shirts with the same thing. I sometimes use it as a self-motivational mantra, but I like to add “You too, heart and lungs—we’re doing this!”

mr_pedro

Lol, I guess there are cramps and CRAMPS. Sounds like you never had a CRAMPS.

I don't have them often but when I have cramps, often laying in bed after exercise, I can feel something coming up and I am able to counter them by stretching the muscle very quickly before the cramp pops up and all is good. Or if I am not fast enough to counter the cramp, it hurts for a few seconds and then all is good.

Now, on the other hand, CRAMPS I have experienced twice in my life now, both after a hard ride that was not necessarily extreme for me, but definitely a big effort after a period of not having cycled much.
That happened right at the end of the rides, it made my quads in one leg just completely lock up, gave an incontrollable pain and there was absolutely nothing I could do that could make me bend my knee and it was impossible to stand on that leg.

PhilFo 

A bottle of tonic water (no gin) will help cramps overnight.

DonkeyShow

Just eat a banana. Or do like I do and cry about it for 20 seconds while massaging it out.

sure you are dealing with cramps and not doms?

Also gin prob would help.

And wtf is pickle juice even? It's just water/salt/vinegar/sugar...

Steel Charlie

Tonic water has been my go-to in the past. Calf cramps have plagued me for several decades and the tonic water has seemed to help. I'll def give the pickle juice a try tho.

pdlamb

Pickle juice helps me sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.

My bug-a-boo on long summer rides in humid summer heat is salt and water. Yeah, I know some studies show that electrolyte deficiency doesn't lead to cramping -- IN THEIR STUDY COHORT. But after a 10-20 mile round trip commute for a week of hot temperatures, if I don't supplement my salt intake, I'll often get cramps. When I pop a salt pill, or eat a baked potato loaded with as much salt as I can stand, the cramps stop or don't appear.

Experiment of one? Mere anecdote? When cramps wake me in the middle of the night, or kick in while I'm reading a book and minding my own business, I don't care -- just make it stop!

Fredo76

From another article about cramps, the point was made that a swallow or two of pickle juice was enough, and that there was no need or benefit to chugging the stuff. The pickle juice shots sound like an idea worth trying, even if you hate pickles, like I do...

Carbonfiberboy 

This is probably due to carb shortage, as you sort of surmise. What works best is to keep them coming, not eat every once in a while. Try a steady intake of about 30g-60g an hour, depending on how much power you are putting out, eating or drinking some carbs at least every half hour. Try that. A very simple thing is to eat 1/4 of a Clif bar every 15'. IME the first 3 hours of a ride is where you set the food and hydration routine that you'll use for the whole ride. If I get that right, I have a great ride. That's maybe the hardest part because in those early hours you feel so good.

There are essentially two sources of cramping: riding harder than you are used to, and shortage of fuel. As in the OP, neither dehydration nor electrolyte shortage are cramping issues.

Carbonfiberboy 

None of the ingredients you mention matter. It's only the taste. Mustard works too. Oddly, peppermint Tums work, but only that brand and the Regular Strength. Again, it's that exact taste. They're really easy to take with in a coin purse. Pickle juice works better, though. DOMS has nothing to do with cramps. Bananas can be good if the cramp is due to carb shortage, but they don't provide the quick relief which taste provides.

hybridbkrdr

sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium

Since a number of foods have sodium and potassium, I can take a Caltrate calcium pill with magnesium. I can also eat Triscuit salty crackers. Overall though, some people underestimate protein in recovery.

Broctoon

I love a big cheeseburger (or pulled pork sandwich) after a long ride. When I'm on a relay team, riding three or four times in a day or two, my favorite snack in between turns is bagels with peanut butter and honey.

downtube42

As I read the study, essentially it says they don't know why but for some reason when pickle juice hits the back of the throat during an active cramp, the cramp immediately stops sometimes for some people. Other things like mustard seem to be similar.

Lots of weasel words. Not definitive. That doesn't mean it's untrue, it just means it's not understood and may or may not be true. Heck maybe it's the action of tilting your head backwards to swallow the stuff that actually stops the cramp. One could theorize the inner ear is actually the key to cramp stoppage. OTOH maybe pickle juice only works for people with blue eyes or people with attached earlobes.

I recall my mom telling me to bite my lower lip to stop a cramp, which sounded like nonsense but I tried, and didn't see any results. If pickle juice shock sometimes work, maybe maybe lip pain also works for some people sometimes.

There's nothing a snake oil salesman likes better than vague correlations and mythology.

Inusuit

Pickle juice stops cramps for me. All the time, every time. I have brown eyes and detached earlobes. Interesting as usual that people with no direct experience speculate endlessly about the causes and cures for cramps.

unterhausen

I can stop cramps by putting electrolyte tablets in my mouth and not swallowing, so it doesn't surprise me that pickle juice is effective as soon as it's in your mouth. This has led me to believe that cramps are 90% half mental

DonkeyShow

"Its all in your head"
-The NIH