Category Archives: Biking

The Dude’s new ride

Patience and persistence finally paid off in both our bike trailer and jogging stroller Craigslist searches.  (I’ll get to the stroller in a future post.)

We actually bought the bike trailer a few weeks ago, after many failed attempts where we either just missed the item, or offered a lower price that wasn’t accepted.  I had narrowed the search to something with suspension, which meant either a high-end Burley model or a Chariot — both retail in the $600-$700 range new.  I hoped to get a new-to-us version for $250 or less.

In the end, we came up a little from that, but we are now the proud owners of a double Chariot Cougar with the stroller conversion kit.  We will be spending a bit more to buy the baby supporter accessory.  Once we have that, I will be sorely tempted to get out on the bike with The Dude.

The product website says the baby supporter is for, “children approximately 6-18 months of age,” but most of the reviews mention using it starting at 2-3 months.  The Dude is 3 months now, and a big 3 months at that, so basically it comes down to a helmet dilemma.  We could most likely ride with him now, but, even if his head were big enough for a helmet, I don’t think it will work with the head support.

So . . . bike helmets.  Riding a safe bicycle, in a safe and confident manner, is a cyclist’s most important safety tool, and a helmet only  protects so much, but why not have it as a back-up?  I don’t get preachy about it, but I do always wear a helmet, and think non-helmeted bikers look rather stupid.

So is it hypocritical to consider my baby NOT wearing one?  Perhaps, but on the other hand, The Dude will be protected by the trailer and the baby supporter, not just sitting on a bicycle seat.  I would argue that this is not much different than riding in a car, and I don’t know of any parents who put a helmet on their baby in the car.

For now, we’ll take things one step at a time.  The next step is actually buying the baby supporter.  Then we can put The Dude into the trailer, with the supporter, and evaluate his security and stability.  If all systems are go, we can sneak in a few rides gorgeous fall rides before winter weather hits.

What a big head you have

The better to wear a bicycle helmet, my dear 🙂

We visited the pediatrician for Gabriel’s 2-month check-up last week, and the doctor diagnosed our little guy with macrocephaly.  Which literally just means that he has a big head (15 inches at birth, 17 inches last week).  When the doctor first said he was recording it in the chart, we thought he was joking, but apparently it is a real diagnosis and something that they will monitor.

Since large heads run in the family on the paternal side, we are not at all worried, and I quickly realized a potential benefit of a baby with a large head.  I came home and looked up infant helmets, and found one that starts at 18 inches — only one more inch to go!  I imagine that last inch will come on more slowly than the first two, and there is the whole needing to be able hold up that giant head of his, but still, methinks this whole macrocephaly thing could be good (for now, at least — Matthew has trouble finding a helmet that is large enough to provide good coverage).

That said, we are still on the fence as far as accommodations for biking with the little guy.  I had this naive idea that I would have plenty of time to troll Craigslist and investigate options AFTER the baby was born.  Yeah, not so much.  First, time?  Ha!  Second, I’m not the most decisive person in the best circumstances, and sleep deprivation and baby-fogged brain . . . .   Well, you get the picture.

Whenever we decide and finally make a purchase, I know we’ll enjoy including Gabriel in our preferred form of transportation, it just may be a bit later than I anticipated.

A slow return to active transportation

Thursday, at six-and-a-half weeks post-op, I rode my bike for the first time since the surgery.  I’d been itching to get back to biking and probably would have taken a little spin around the block a couple of weeks ago, but between finding the time and finding the energy, it just didn’t happen.

Those weeks of limited mobility gave me time to think about the limits of active transportation.  Sure, I’d always been fully aware that there is a certain segment of the population that physically cannot walk or bike for transportation, but actually being in that segment, albeit for a short time, was a different story.

In the first weeks, even walking a block was difficult.  Unless you live somewhere very dense, with great public transportation (which is hard to have in cities that are not dense), you won’t get far if you can’t walk more than a block.  Since St. Louis is not very dense, my only option, if I wanted or needed to leave the apartment, was a car.

As someone for whom the car is the least preferred transportation method, I quickly grew frustrated.  This frustration came to a head a couple of weeks ago, when I needed to visit the AT&T store to replace my poor dead phone.  Matthew and the car were out at our commuter garden.  There was such a store less than two miles away, near my dentist’s office, a library branch, and a grocery store, destinations to which I almost always bike, and heck, would not even be out of the question for walking.  However, with my activity limitations, and without a car, that two miles may as well have been two hundred.

The thing is, for all the people out there, for whom, either permanently or temporarily, active transportation is really not an option, there are hundreds more who choose, either passively or actively, to snub their active transportation options and all the benefits and freedom it would offer.

I still need to make some purchases to make these modes of transportation possible with baby in tow.  For now, I will be working to build my strength and endurance, gradually increasing the range I can travel on two feet and two wheels.

Bicycle dreams

So, during the whole “your baby has some deadly infection,” NICU debacle, we were facing the possibility of Gabriel having a 14-21 day stay in the NICU (if he did indeed have an infection) for continuing IV antibiotic treatment.

As I was lying in my hospital bed, drifting in and out of sleep, thinking about running back and forth from home to the hospital to feed my baby, it crossed my mind that perhaps I could make some of the trips by bicycle (the hospital we chose is within 4-5 miles of our apartment).  Sure, it’s been really hot, but it would be nice to cut down on the car time, and I was really looking forward to being back on the bicycle.

I continued processing the idea, and a few moments later, reality cut through the sleep-deprivation and Percocet-induced haze, and I thought to myself, “Self, you just had major abdominal surgery three days ago, I don’t really think you’ll be riding your bicycle anytime soon.”

The sad truth is that it will be at least a few more weeks before I am reunited with Bub or Baby Jake.  Right now, doing the stairs a few times a day and very slow, very short walks are about the extent of my physical activity.  Well, that and lifting my 10+ pounder 🙂

Meanwhile, the search for a trailer continues, and I certainly hope to be back on my bicycle sooner rather than later.

Two wheeled report

Well, the sad truth on the bicycling front is that, until this morning, I hadn’t been on my bike in two weeks!  Fortunately, I remedied that today with a nice leisurely ride to run a couple of errands, including picking up the last few items on the “home birth supply list.”

I covered about 4 miles total, and set out as early as possible to beat the heat.  It felt great to be riding.  The only problem is that my eyes were bigger than my milk crate:

I managed to cram it all in, with a little help from my handlebar bag.

What’s missing in this picture?  If you guessed “feet,” you’re right!  Despite their extra large size, due to swelling, my belly still manages to completely obscure my feet.

I hope to get in a bit more bike time this weekend, but I’m not exactly sure how things will shape up.  Like last weekend, we have a number of plans that involve the car.  Plans = fun.  Driving car to events = not so fun.  Bike = fun 🙂