I've only just caught up with this very enjoyable thread
@Cannondale Lady . A couple of thoughts about blood pressure and cramps:
My own BP will go over 200 without meds, partly because of bad habits but mostly because I have a dodgy kidney which ''tells'' the heart to give it more blood. When it got diagnosed, I got the list of things that help reduce BP. Salt was high on that list, along with exercise. I recently had a blood test and found I had a sodium deficiency. And I was getting cramps. I'd almost cut salt out of my diet completely. While the standard advice is cut down on salt, the body needs it, particularly when exercising. You can get hydrolyte tablets which apparently have some salts in them as you drink. Or you can use water, fruit juice and salt in your water bottle. You'll be sweating more on the bike, so drink more than you think you want and don't worry about adding a little more salt to your diet.
When the docs got me medicationalised, statins came into the mix. They can also cause cramps. Personally, I haven't tried to change that as a medication. Stretching the muscles does help stop them happening, though. I get it in the calf muscles so I do that leaning into street furniture, door posts, conveniently planted trees thing that runners do.
If you have high BP don't be afraid of exercising, just do it within your limits. I doubt that there are many doctors who could define those limits but the exercising does more for keeping the need for meds down and keeping you alive than the risk-averse don't strain anything advice can ever do. The heart, it appears, needs a variable terrain for it to keep fit.
So, anyway, get out on that bike tomorrow, drink as you ride, and don't be afraid to put a little more salt on your chips.
(IANAD)
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