Pedaling pregnant

Whether you like it or not, one of the things you learn when you’re pregnant is how much other women like to tell pregnancy stories.

(Y-chromosome readers, please don’t stop reading yet. I promise I won’t go THERE.)

With two under my belt I have my share, too. But my favorite pregnancy story doesn’t recall tearing up at the first kick, or the ordeal and triumph of labor and delivery. It’s the bicycle commuting I did through both pregnancies. With TART’s Smart Commute Week coming up June 7-11, it’s a good time to re-tell.

Both kids have September birthdays, which meant I was pedaling for two through the dog days of summer. The first one was on an antiquated, single-speed Sears Huffy, inherited from my mother-in-law about the fourth month, when my belly informed me crouching over to reach my road bike’s drop handlebars was no longer advised.) It was a beast: No gears, coaster brakes and at least 35 pounds. But the upright position was comfortable. It was a girl’s frame and thus easy to get on and off. And since bike riding is a non-weight bearing exercise, it was an ideal pregnancy workout. I pedaled to my OB appointments, prenatal yoga classes, and around town on errands. This was all back in 2005.

More than transportation, however, bike commuting was a touchstone to my inner self when my outer self was changing so profoundly. For almost 20 years, biking has provided so many things to me: A way to clear my head. A way to get things done. An adventure. A joy to savor alone, or one to share. Even a means to earn a living, when I moved to Traverse City to work as a bike tour leader. During pregnancy, biking provided precious continuity through the most dramatic change of my entire life. It was a foregone conclusion I’d do it for No. 2.

During my second pregnancy in 2008, however, I did have a scare. I was still riding the old Huffy, now outfitted with a Burley trailer carrying child No. 1. I had just dropped him off at Grandma’s en route to a prenatal yoga class. I was crossing Garfield Avenue at Eighth Street when the chain broke.

As you’ll recall, this was a single speed bike with coaster brakes. Broken chain, no brakes. Broken chain, no brakes. Broken chain, NO BRAKES. I was in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in town, almost six months pregnant, absorbing this reality.

Gratitude that I’d already dropped off my son flashed through my head, followed by terror. Common sense was close on both heels, though. I crossed Garfield, rolled into the parking lot of the garage on the corner, and rode in circles until my momentum halted. I locked the bike up and walked the rest of the way to the yoga class. A few days later I traded in the Huffy at that used bike garage on Locust Street (great place, by the way) for a 10-speed Schwinn that I rode for the remaining three months, and still ride today.

Many of you, especially women, might be shaking your heads now. (“She kept riding? What was she thinking? How foolish!” ) Believe me, I share this story with some trepidation, especially given the question that prompted this post: A pregnant woman asked a mutual friend if she should get a tricycle to use for her nine-month duration. He asked me to weigh in.

Thing is, I really can’t answer that. I don’t know, statistically speaking, if a tricycle would be more balanced than a bicycle, and therefore safer, which is what I assume underlies the question.

What I can tell her – and everyone, X or Y chromosome, who might be thinking of trying bike commuting during Smart Commute Week – is that they key to success isn’t your wheels. It’s your confidence. Given the number of miles I’ve accumulated and my experience as a bike tour leader, mine is pretty high. So in the middle of Garfield and Eighth, between the engines idling with 10 seconds remaining on their red light, I figured out my out.

Confidence builds, but you can help it along. Getting back on the horse, er, bike, is one tried and true method. TART’s commuting classes (next one is June 22) are another way. Knowing your ability, comfort level and limits and staying within them are another. Carry a cell phone. I recall another time, a particularly hot day in my first pregnancy, when I’d ridden to my prenatal yoga class. Walking outside afterward, I knew that even the couple miles home would be too much. I called my husband to pick me up.

To come to the point: if that expectant mother feels she’ll be safer on a tricycle, then she’ll be more confident riding it. Likewise for the person who’s overweight/got a bad knee/uses an inhaler/fill in the blank. With your doctor/midwife/health care practitioner’s blessing, do what you have to do to accommodate your particular needs. And then?

Giddy up.

During TART’s 2008 Smart Commute Week Cari Noga won a special award, nominated by her co-worker, for commuting while pregnant and while towing her almost three-year-old son.

Check out these great photos of women riding while pregnant on Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

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