Any bike commuting moms here?

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surendered12345678

New member
First time MBT at 25+0, daily bike commuter 20 miles a day with a pedal assist ebike. I’ve noticed ever since hitting 20 weeks that the increased blood volume is smacking me in the face, and I’m relying on the e-assist much more than before. Did any of you make it all the way through your pregnancy bike commuting, and do you have any tips? I’d really like to stay the course for as long as I can, especially since it’s my main mode of movement!
 
@chosen_1 Ok wait. We need info. You biked to the hospital, because you work there and not because you were going into labor, right? 😅 you are super woman if you meant the latter!
 
@chosen_1 It would be DREAMS to bike to the hospital when it's go-time. My only hurdle with that is that where I live, I wouldn't know if my bike would still be there when I came back for it.
 
@surendered12345678 I’m 19 weeks now and still bike commuting. My ride is shorter (about 3 miles each way), but I’ve definitely noticed that it’s harder to get to my normal speeds. I have a Yuba Kombi (long tail cargo bike without e-assist) that I use for preschool drop off on the way to work. I couldn’t tell if I need a tune-up, have flat tires from the cold, or my body is just changing. I got four exercise minutes just walking around my building the other day, so I think it’s just my body adapting to pregnancy.

I work in a school, and one of the parents did drop off with her Urban Arrow until about a week before she had her baby! I was amazed.
 
@surendered12345678 I also bike to get most places including work though my commute is shorter. I’m just 12 weeks so I don’t have any tips but curious to see what others say.

Also curious if anyone is using bikes to transport kids on a regular basis.
 
@surendered12345678 I did manage to keep bike commuting all the way to the end but my ride is/was much shorter than yours.
As in - last day at work at 37+1 (Friday) I rode on, and the little man decided he didn't want me to waste any maternity leave, so went and made an early appearance on Monday into Tuesday.

Adjusting the handlebars up helped me lots, and to be honest I felt my balance and stability while riding wasn't as good as normal, so I was riding much more slowly and really looking around for hazards/traffic.

Fitness-wise I was spinning until the end too, so the commute didn't feel hard aside from a feeling of increasing vulnerability.
 
My distance door to door was about 15min, most of it on dedicated cycle paths/lanes through a University area, or through a housing estate with a low speed limit.

Depends how stable and safe you feel, as I think that will limit how long you cycle for, rather than fitness
 
@surendered12345678 Although I no longer bike commute since I began working from home due to the pandemic, I do try to keep up my cycling fitness on the indoor trainer and lifting weights. I pretty quickly noticed that I needed a lot more fuel and water but it took me longer to realize how much more sodium/potassium I needed. In hindsight, it seems so obvious. It isn't just low energy that was getting me. I noticed that I also had poor sleep as well as this constant stinging throat, like an unquenchable thirst. Oh also, I felt like I'd been kicked in the shin. Like walked into my pedal but didn't. My OB said it was probably a cramp. Just because I know my body and how it responds to electrolytes, knew I thought I should try to increase my LMNT from 1-2 packets a day to 3+. It was absolutely what was holding me back from doing any real volume on the bike. The stinging in my throat is gone. Sleep is marginally better. As good as it could be considering I'm 26 weeks. And my shin is mostly better.

Side note. I've personally felt a lot of judgement about pregnant continuing to pedal outdoors. It feels very similar to the judgement issued for being a bike commuter in the first place. Good on you. Keep on keepin on.
 
@cathya Thanks for the tip, I honestly hadn’t even thought about my electrolytes!

Yeah I’m definitely starting to get more of a side eye from colleagues, but they’ve always thought I was crazy in the first place for bike commuting. It drives me nuts when it’s veiled in maternal worry too!
 
@surendered12345678 My theory was also based on reading that our blood volume increases to support baby. Add to that the increased respiration rate from pregnancy then add in how it's cold and you lose even more moisture just breathing outdoors. Not everybody is as sensitive to electrolytes, you would know your own body of course. But as an athlete, I guess you may have fiddled with it before.
 
@surendered12345678 Now at 29 weeks, my belly (in combination with my winter jacket) gets in the way, lol. But I also use a "regular" bike and quite a hill to go up in the morning, so I did not even try to adjust my seat / position to accomodate. (This actually helped me to get home office acommondation) But I am definitely shopping around for an ebike now!
 
@surendered12345678 I would talk to your doctor about this. Yes movement is great however the danger with a real bike is that you could easily fall and a reasonably high speed which would be very dangerous for baby. Plus- your center of mass changes and you have less balance as you progress through pregnancy.
 
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