Cycling While Preggers

I have never seen anyone doing this in Chicago - those Danes are hardcore!



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Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on May 21, 2010 at 5:10pm
I rode through my pregnancy averaging 20 miles a day just for my work commute. The concerns around falls that some doctors mention is based on the idea that one's balance is constantly shifting due to the ever-expanding belly. I did have to stop riding my road bike though as it got closer to d-day. The ride postion on a road bike is impractical, leaning toward impossible in later pregnancy. Had to switch to a more upright bike.
Permalink Reply by jen on May 21, 2010 at 6:22pm
my sister rode her pre-war elgin bicycle untill the day she delivered. She said it was easier and faster than walking!
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 23, 2010 at 3:38pm
LOL

Ricardo Cervantes said:
I also got my wife preggers while cycling.............oh wait, wrong thread.
Permalink Reply by Lindsay E. Stout on May 27, 2010 at 12:50pm
I saw the CUTEST girl the other day riding on the sidewalk at Montrose and Ravenswood and she was preggo! Fucking adorable. Almost put a missed connection out for her, just to say "Cheers for getting the kid in to bikes from the start!"
Permalink Reply by Aaron Bussey on May 27, 2010 at 1:02pm
ha :)

Lindsay E. Stout said:
I saw the CUTEST girl the other day riding on the sidewalk at Montrose and Ravenswood and she was preggo! Fucking adorable. Almost put a missed connection out for her, just to say "Cheers for getting the kid in to bikes from the start!"
Permalink Reply by Ash L. on November 4, 2012 at 4:47am

I'm necromancing this thread to see if there's any interest in a pregnant lady social ride. I only know of three or four of us around town but maybe there are a bunch of clandestine pregnancies cooking. It is in the water, ya know. 

A friend was in an accident recently and is receiving some guilt for being on a bicycle at all. Let's show folks that riding while gestating is not a crime and can be a perfectly safe way to get around. Riding while pregnant is certainly a hell of a lot easier and more effective than walking.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on November 4, 2012 at 4:55am

I'll pass this on to ladies I know who have ridden or are riding pregnant.  

If I were I'd be with you in a second.  Give me say..... 1-2 years. 

Permalink Reply by Anika on November 4, 2012 at 3:05pm
What works for one pregnancy doesn't always work for subsequent ones. A sounding board for those with questions or looking for women who made differing decisions might be nice.

I would also suggest including those in the early next stage after pregnancy. For every 1 positive comment I receive about biking with children, there are at least a dozen negatives (and often yelling and me with at least one kid in tow). People who have no business are far more opinionated with people who a preggers or towing newbies. As if life wasn't already hard enough...

I'm sorry for your friend. She has entered a whole new phase of biking where she is responsible for not only herself but someone else. I'm sure she didn't choose to be in the accident and by no means should she feel guilt over it.
Permalink Reply by Gin on November 5, 2012 at 7:44am

I know many who have biked through their pregnancies and felt it helped them stay sane and fit, including my mom. In 1972, docs told her the pregnancy with me was very high risk due to some circulation issues. They prescribed exercise and she pedaled pretty much until she had me.

I agree with Anika and others that families need some support (and comebacks) for all the nasty comments we get about biking while pregnant and biking with children. And, of course--we need safer streets, better laws, better educated police, and a community that celebrates instead vilifies families who bike with their children. When a person in a car accuses me of endangering my child, I sometimes counter "so in other words, you are saying that driving creates dangerous conditions, and that you are the one endangering my child." or something like that. 

Other responses I have used: car crashes are the #1 cause of death for children. . . I am protecting my kid and myself from the dangers of inactivity and depression. . .

Ideas for other comebacks that are G rated to say in front of our kids?

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on November 5, 2012 at 10:19am

I don't have any yet, but would love to hear more like this. 

Gin said:

When a person in a car accuses me of endangering my child, I sometimes counter "so in other words, you are saying that driving creates dangerous conditions, and that you are the one endangering my child." or something like that. 

Other responses I have used: car crashes are the #1 cause of death for children. . . I am protecting my kid and myself from the dangers of inactivity and depression. . .

Ideas for other comebacks that are G rated to say in front of our kids?

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on November 5, 2012 at 11:38am

I'm pregnant and biking, with kid #3.  I didn't bike the whole pregnancy with my first two; they were both spring babies, and I biked less overall at the time, so it was easy to stop in the fall.  #3 is due in the end of November, and I have a 1.5 mile work commute now.  It's hard to imagine an easier way to get to work, so I'll probably keep biking til the end.  It's definitely easier than walking 1.5 miles.  I could also just spend more time waiting at bus stops, and that will be my alternative if I get too uncomfortable on the bike.  My midwife told me not to get hit by a car, which sounds good to me.  But a good chunk of my 1.5 mile commute turned into protected bike lane this summer, so it feels pretty safe.  Other than my work commute, most of my cycling is either on the lake front trail (heading to some downtown destination from the south) or as a family.

I am definitely slowing down.  I think I have less lung capacity, and my knees have to stick out to the side a bit, so it can take me a long time to get anywhere.  But it still takes less time to go 1.5 miles by bike than by bus.  And I bike the kids to school on my way (or my husband does) -- they go to school about a half mile from home, and they enjoy biking.  They are 3 and 5.  I enjoy that they get less distracted by everything on the sidewalk when biking than walking.  I expect we'll do more walking after the baby is born, as we don't have a way to carry a newborn on a bike (I'm not comfortable biking with a baby in a carrier, and we don't have a box bike).

We lead a kidical mass ride on the southside, after joining in the Palmer Sq one for a few years, and it's been a great way to meet other biking families and talk about issues that come up when biking as a family.  We've actually been pretty lucky, and haven't had any cat-calling, particularly not that the kids understood and asked about later.  I know Jen James has had some.

Permalink Reply by Chrissy on November 5, 2012 at 1:12pm

I rode my bike throughout my entire second pregnancy.  Most of this was in the winter months and I went slow, took it easy and enjoyed the ride.  Sometimes, I even stopped to vomit in a park.  : )  But towards the end of my pregnancy, it turned spring and got warmer.  As soon as I shed my coat, the horrible comments started from onlookers about endangering the baby.  They were mean. 

 

I received uncomfortable comments from strangers the entire time I was pregnant and not just about biking.  I think pregnant women seem vulnerable somehow and perhaps childlike.  It seems like strangers think they can say anything they want to a pregnant person, commenting on what she is eating, wearing, weighing, doing or not doing, sharing their unwanted advice, criticism or affections. 

 

Additionally, biking brings out strong emotions from those who dislike the riders in Chicago.  Put pregnancy and biking together and you will probably hear someone try to shame you off your bike.   But hang in there, ladies!  Take it slow, take it easy and enjoy the ride.  Your unborn baby surely is!

 

Chrissy

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