I ride my off-road bike every weekend. I usually try to get in one major ride and one normal-length ride per weekend. I have clipless pedals and lately I've been cramping in my right calf. I'm not sure if the pedals are responsible for the cramp--but I never cramped when I used toe clips. The cramp starts about one hour into my three hour ride and continues on and off for the duration of the ride. What should I do?

-- Elga

Elga, your calves may be cramping for several reasons, and the new pedals may or may not be one of them. You might have unconsciously changed the way you pedal with the clipless pedals.

Pedaling with toe clips and straps, without cleats, enforces a smoother pedaling style so you won't yank your feet out of the straps. If you're exaggerating the upstroke (now that you have a more secure connection), you may be pointing your toes downward, which means you're contracting your calf muscles.

That's asking your calves to do more than they should to help get through that part of the pedal stroke. Back in the days of ten speed racing bikes, people used to "ankle"--that is, emphasize the upstroke and downstroke by dropping the heel below the pedals on the downstroke, and pulling up on the upstroke in order to get the most out of every pedal revolution.

That didn't result in as smooth a pedal action as you could develop if you just kept pedal pressure even and constant throughout the entire movement. We call that pedaling circles instead of squares.

It's also possible that with clipless pedals you have a smaller platform on which to push against. If you're using older shoes without absolutely rigid soles, you may be curling your toes downward around the little pedals. Doing that can also contribute to cramping. Then there's just plain old fatigue which causes cramps when you're tired.

I'm sure you stretch after your rides, but making sure you emphasize your calves may alleviate the cramping problem. Stretch your calves while you are on the bike by standing on the pedals while they are at the nine o'clock and three o'clock positions. With your knees straight, drop your heels below the balls of your feet. Reverse the pedals and repeat. Do this only on gradual, non-technical downhill sections.

You can also get cramps from loss of fluids, so proper hydration during rides is really important. Start taking fluids 15 minutes into your ride and at 15 minute intervals thereafter. You should polish off at least a water bottle an hour.

For short rides water is OK, but on longer rides you lose more fluids and minerals so opt for sport drinks instead. Don't forget a cyclist's favorite food, bananas (for their potassium content) either.

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