I am now 7 weeks pregnant with my second baby. With the first it was no issue as I felt so awful I didn't want to do anything. I feel Ok so far..should there be any limitations on my biking as long as I feel fine??
I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant and up untill literally the last few days I thought me and my bike might never get together again this side of the nipper arriving.
Planning my first, 2nd trimester ride for the weekend and can't wait! Come rain, hail of sunshine I'm off out to get reacquainted with my old friend - at a slightly more sedate pace than I might have done in the past.
Would love to know how you get on. Would love to hear from any other girls either pregnant or who rode while pregnant.
I did continue cycling for the first 4 months or so of my first pregnancy but mostly on a sit up and beg bike that I rode into work. It was only back problems, the approach of winter and a growing awareness of the madness of drivers that stopped me.
I did do a 40 mile ride on absolutely no training to raise some money for a local organisation whilst about 6 weeks pregnant and not realising it at the time (no lasting damage that I'm aware of - but he is 14 so it's a bit hard to tell at the moment) riding was erratic from then until about 3 years ago mainly because of lack of time and the location was not ideal, much better since we moved :-)
Well - I suprised myself! I've only ridden once in the last 3 months and at the weekend I managed to do a very sedate 16 miles on my mtb on the road, with a total time in the saddle of nearly 2 hours! It was fantastic! I enjoyed it so much.
It was so nice to be back on the bike and the hot choc stop was certainly welcome.
Niggles and pains wise - a small case of a*rse ache from being off the saddle for so long but that was it.
Climbing was a bit harder - couldn't put much power through the pedals as it seemed to put pressure my groin which was a bit uncomfortable.
Finally - gotta find some bigger kit! This lot isn't going to last much longer. I hear Terry do maternity shorts but failing that, look out hubby, cycle- wardrobe about to be raided. :0)
hello, i've just joined - been scouring the net for info on the subject & found this thread. i suppose i just wanted to add my experiences, & it would be inspiring to hear of any others.
i'm now nearly half the way through my pregnancy and decided early on that i wanted to carry on cycling as much as i was able to - commuting to work and mountain biking. i suppose i was quite depressed initially at the thought of the whole summer being trail-less and wondered where i'd get those techy-alps-decent highs from this year, and for the first time in 10 years of cycling. its a huge change for me, but, well, i've just got used to the idea i think & looked at the bigger picture.
i'm currently still riding to work every day (about 8 miles each way), but i'm too tired on some days so get a train. Its also getting more uncomfortable as i have pulling pains in my belly if i push it a bit, and my body positioning on my bike makes my stomach quite cramped now. i'm going alot slower due to tiredness (i was amazed at how much its effected me) and also climbing is very difficult, as the muscles in my belly seem to have changed the way they're working and i need more oxygen now (i'm producing more blood apparently). but overall, i'm still enjoying it.
offroad, i'm having to be very careful, and taking simple, smooth & flatish routes - no more mad downhills, or drops, or jumps or any of the exciting stuff that makes us grin from ear to ear, but still nice to be in the saddle. i had my final all out blast on the trails at afan when i was 2-3 mths pregnant although did no drops bigger than 2', but done nothing like that since.
i'm currently wearing my rad baggy freeride shorts, which used to hang cooly off my hips but now seem to fit me perfectly around the waist. not sure what i'll do when i outgrow those, but heard of someone modifying their own & stitching a large piece of elastic across the front where they do up & wearing them like that.
i'm hoping to keep riding until 6mths (or longer?), but am very aware of the risks if i fall/get hit by a car. i think that would be the only reason for me stopping. my doc is very happy that i'm still cycling, as she says that low impact excercise is very important during pregnancy.
anyway, sorry for the essay-length first post, but suppose my only advice is to listen to your body. if you cycle a lot, you know how it should react - if it hurts, you get too tired or hot or you're not enjoying it anymore; slow down, do less, or stop. do what you feel comfortable with.
I'm 16 weeks pregnant and spent weeks 8-14 in bed, mostly in hospital. I was so sick I couldn't keep anything down and ended up dehyrdated, malnourished and with ketosis, oh, and a urinary tract infection (symptoms - nausea!). Feeling mostly better now, and back to work for half a day tommorow!
Had a sedate ride on Trans Peninine Trail on Easter Sunday in the snow, but my legs were so weak from being in bed for 6 weeks, I only managed 5 flat miles. Have been walking everyday since, and feeling stronger, so we are planning to hire a tandem and ride round Ladybower at the weekend. Hoping to then build up to longer, but un-gnarly rides, on my own bikes, from there.
On the good side, I've lost so much weight, even my lycra is baggy, so my baggies might just see me through until my centre of gravity takes over.
Terry do a maternity cycling top and shorts, have a look on
It's a US based website, but I have ordered from them in the past and my order arrived within a week, and it was so cheap I didn't need to pay import tax.
Sophie, congrats on your pregnancy and yes your attitude is a commonsense approach, as you say listen to your body, ease off or stop when you have to. Remember you are supplying your baby and the extra tissue you have developed with oxygen and your circulating blood volume increases drastically with pregnancy but it takes much longer to produce extra red blood cells, this effectively means you have a form of anaemia due to dilution. This is one reason why you become breahless so much more quickly.
Alice, be careful on the tandem. My ex thought it might be a good idea in order to help me get up the hills when I ran out of steam and walked. I was concerned that he would actually push me to go further up the hill than my body was prepared to go. By being on a solo I could be more in charge of my own body and stop when I knew I had reached my limit. You'll be ok if you are staying on the flat but do make sure your OH realises that stop means stop when your body dictates it.
Trio I have a tandem and now that Andrew has had the crank shorteners off it two adults can easily ride it, it looks a bit ropey at the present as itdesperately needs a re-spray, but it is functional.
The tandem was good fun, & was excellent to be out in the Peaks (and the snow) again. Adam is very thoughtful at the best of times and really didn't push me too hard at all. In fact, by him controlling speed and route (he was steering) he probably made me do less than I would have done solo. And made me have breaks far more often than I would have thought about.
Was weird sitting outside Fariholmes caff with lots of of gnarly bikers on their flash bikes, whilst sitting next to a hire tandem. Wanted a T shirt that said "My own bike's a Spech Epic " . But great not to have to clean bikes afterwards.
Now that readlly is a plus not having to clean the bike. Maybe I should always hire, although I guess it might work out a bit expensive if I ride a lot!
Glad you enjoyed it Alice, it's always good to get back out on the bike after a lay-off! All the bikers at Fairholmes were probably like, wow a tandem, I know I would be.
Will you be going out again? I might persuade Ali that we should join you and hire a tandem as well.
Glad you enjoyed yourselves. When I was preggers I had a sign on the back of the bike; mum to be on aboard .
My fear with riding on a tandem was that my ex saw it as a way to ensure I kept up on hills and am sure he would have tried to push harder to get us both to the top beyond the point where my body had said enough.
.
