Category Archives: Biking

A snotty bicycle health freak

As a general rule, I keep work-related things out of this blog, but I happen to be in an area of work that is very related to some of what I blog about here, namely, the bicycling, active transportation, and health aspects.  So I’m going to break my rule and share a link to an article about my work over the last year-and-a-half.  You can read about it here*.

Surprisingly, the comments haven’t gotten too out-of-control yet, but they did provide inspiration for the title of this post** 😉

In other news, I completed the basic Cycling Savvy training over the weekend, which included over 20 miles on the bike on Saturday (~ 13 miles in the course, plus biking to and from the training).  My bum knee and the rest of my 6 1/2 month-pregnant-body performed quite adequately.

The training included one element that put me outside of my comfort zone (biking southbound along Kingshighway from Manchester to Shaw) and otherwise offered good opportunities to hone my cycling skills.

I hauled Baby Jake out for the article photo op and was pleasantly surprised to find he still offered a comfortable ride, and perhaps a position that is easier on my knee than BUB, so Baby Jake became my ride of choice for the weekend.  Now that it seems my knee has healed (at least mostly), I’m looking forward to biking regularly again.

*All things considered, the article came out pretty well, which means I didn’t do anything like this.  That said, I wish I had emphasized the importance of quality, comprehensive bicycle education, from which all cyclists, adults and children, those who have been cycling for years and those new to the activity, would benefit greatly.  Instead, on the questions about bicycling safety, I somehow managed to use the word “helmet” three times — cringe!

**I’m not sure how the commenter knew about my cold and the resulting snottiness I experienced over the past couple of weeks, but I’m feeling much better now, thanks 🙂

Into the 3rd

Well, here we are at 28.5 weeks!  We got back from our trip almost three weeks ago now, and I realize I’ve written very little about it.  I spent the first two weeks exhausted, fighting the third cold I’ve had this pregnancy (poor little immune system), a Roman superbug, and diving right into a busy time at work.

After the sore throat, runny nose, etc., the superbug announced its presence in my sinuses last Monday with a sudden onset toothache affecting only the teeth on the top right side of my mouth.  For a few hours, I sat at my desk, feeling like my face was going to explode.  The tooth pain abated on its own, but since that time, I’ve upped the neti pot to twice a day, which seems to be working.

I’m actually trying to be good about resting my bum knee, which means almost no biking, because I need it to get me through an entire day in the saddle for the Cycling Savvy training this Saturday, followed by a community bike ride on Sunday.

I’m still keeping active with some walking, upper body weights, and the prenatal yoga class I just started.

I hope to get back on track here soon, with some posts on our time in Italy and green baby prep.  Until then, here’s hoping for sunny skies to dry up the soggy ground and healthy knees for biking!

Traveling while pregnant

I purchased our tickets to Europe back in December, still early-on in my pregnancy.  I’d already checked with my doctor and midwife about international travel while pregnant and received the green light, with advice to travel during the 2nd trimester if possible.  With that in mind, I nervously committed a large chunk of money to the trip, not knowing how I would feel, or how big I would be, or if there would be any pregnancy complications that contraindicated travel when March 22nd rolled around.

Fortunately, I felt great during the 2nd trimester and my still-small belly, while sometimes frustrating because I wanted to “look” pregnant, made for relatively easy travel, with just a few challenges.

Challenge #1 — The Bladder

In London, I could count on relatively easy restroom access when out-and-about by ducking into a Starbucks or McDonalds.  I became accustomed to walking in, quickly scoping out the place and the most likely restroom location, and making my way there, and back out, without making it too obvious that I wasn’t a paying customer.

Italy was trickier on the restroom front.  In Florence, I ducked into a small restaurant and waited an agonizing 10 hours (okay, more like 10 minutes, or less) for the father and little girl  who stepped in just before me to vacate the restroom, all the while hoping that the staff in the nearly empty place would not approach me and ask what I was doing, or call the polizia and haul me off to jail.

In Rome, we wandered for at least two hours trying to find a restroom one afternoon.  I should have just sucked it up and played the pregnancy card, but the one time I tried to do that, in a small gelato shop (where we actually PURCHASED something, by the way), the rude woman denied my request.

Now I suppose it was POSSIBLE that they really didn’t have a restroom, even for employees, in the tiny shop, but I doubt it.  There I was, a customer, obviously pregnant and in distress, and this woman wouldn’t help me.  I left the shop fuming and in tears.  When we finally found a restroom, it was at least an hour later 😦

Advice: Take full advantage of any restroom opportunities you get.  Always go before leaving a museum, restaurant, etc.  You never know how difficult it will be to find the next toilet.  Though it didn’t work so well for me, don’t be shy about playing the pregnancy card.

Challenge #2 — Lots of walking while carrying extra weight

We walked EVERYWHERE in London and Italy, which was great from a physical activity perspective, but turned out to be hard on my body.  Despite my relatively small size, I’m already carrying an extra 20 pounds — not insignificant!  That, combined with loosening ligaments due to pregnancy hormones, led to some painful times.  From the night of our second day in London, until sometime in Florence or Cinque Terre (about 6 days later), I walked around with excruciating foot pain and seriously thought I may have stress fractures in one or both feet.  Miraculously, this went away on its own, despite being on my feet constantly.

Unfortunately, about the time the foot pain resolved, I started having issues with my left knee.  Although I think that may finally be getting a bit better, it’s been at least two weeks now.  It’s been especially hard trying to be good and stay off the bike since we’ve been back.  Since I nigh upon refuse to drive anywhere within easy biking distance, I’ve felt like a prisoner in my own apartment.

Advice: Keep in mind the additional stresses that pregnancy puts on your body, even if you’re in relatively good shape.  Don’t expect that you’ll be able to do everything, and plan to scale things back a bit.  Tune in to early warning signs that you may be over doing things, and adjust as necessary.

Overall the trip was great, and I’m really thankful we had the opportunity and that it went so well.

Edible souvenirs

In our quest to not accumulate too much “stuff,” we usually forgo souvenirs when we travel.  If we do buy something, it is often edible.  Here’s our booty from Italy:

  • Truffle-infused pici — a thick noodleto be prepared in a traditional way, simply topped with olive oil, grated cheese, and black pepper)
  • Very high quality dried porcinis — super flavorful and much fresher than any dried porcinis you can buy in the States
  • Sciacchetra — a special dessert wine, product of the Cinque Terre region.  We plan to use a bottle to toast baby’s arrival this summer 🙂
  • Our two non-edible souvenirs are still food -related: a big ladle and a baby spoon, both made locally in Siena from olive wood.

Sure, edible souvenirs don’t last forever, but that’s kind-of the point.  For lasting memories, we have plenty of pictures!

I also have a few trip “souvenirs” that I would like to disappear.  First, there’s the cold that started halfway through the return flight from Rome.  A week later, with lots of hot honeyed tea, water, and regular neti pot usage, I think it’s on it’s way out.

Unfortunately, the knee pain that started in Siena or Rome shows few signs of subsiding.  Regular walking is not too problematic, but going downstairs (or down steep hills), is a different story.  Today I discovered that I can walk downstairs at a slightly faster rate if I go down backwards.

To make matters worse, biking is also painful.  I biked to my dentist appointment last Friday and haven’t been back on since 😦  I’m really itching to get back on the bike, but I also want my knee to heal, so I’m trying to be good.  Will I get desperate enough to go see a doctor?  TBD.

Biking with babies

After a bit of initial research on biking with babies, I was somewhat resigned to spending the first nine to twelve months postpartum traveling either by foot, p-trans, or car, except for the rare occasions I ventured out without baby.  The idea that a young infant could not be safely transported by bicycle, when we give no thought to putting them in cars, seemed quite ludicrous to me, but I couldn’t find much information on safe options.

Then I saw the “Cycling with Children” post on Simply Bike, which inspired me to dig a little deeper.  The author and I are both pregnant with our firsts, and we’re at about the same stage in our pregnancies.  S linked to an article in Momentum magazine, which featured this great quote:

Todd Litman, founder and executive director of the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute. who started cycling with his oldest son when he was just days old, addressed the risk.  He said: “There is no reason why, if a child is able to be carried in a car, they shouldn’t be able to be carried in a bicycle trailer.  A lot of people overlook the risks and stresses associated with driving, but make a big deal about bicycling.”

Finally, a voice of reason!  Now the question is not if, but how.  So far, these resources seem helpful:

And there is a decent chance a new bike purchase may be in our future, as most sources recommend some form of cargo bike rather than just adding a trailer to a regular bicycle.

Three cargo bikes I’m drooling over:

I’m not 100% sold on a cargo bike over a trailer, and I still have lots of questions, but at least I’m more hopeful that baby and I can get around by bike this fall, which makes this mama-to-be quite happy 🙂

Update (March 2, 2013)
Check out these posts to see our current set-up for biking now that our little dude is part of the picture: