Today?s profile comes from Juliet, who contacted me while she was still cycling at 39 weeks. You can follow Juliet?s adventures on her blog, Twisting Vines, and read about her cycling while pregnant below.
Name: Juliet
Age: 34
Location: London, UK
Cycling for how many years: Regularly as an adult for about 15 years?(learnt to ride as a child).
Favorite part about cycling: The freedom and flexibility of moving?yourself around under your own power. And the fact that it?s just *fun*!
Bike(s) you ride: Around town I mostly ride my self-built fixie; it?s an?old (70s/80s) road-bike-style skinny steel frame with mudguards and?rack. I also have a Hewitt Cheviot light tourer with gears which I use?for longer rides, Audaxing (though I haven?t ridden an Audax for a?couple of years), and touring. We now have a Christiania trike, too,
bought very recently for carrying the small-person around in once he?arrives!
What three words sum up your cycling experience while being pregnant:?Slower, still great!
How did being pregnant affect your approach to cycling or your daily?commute:
I work from home so no longer have a daily commute, but use my bike for?transport wherever I do happen to be going. During my first trimester I?felt really ill for several weeks so although if I did need to go?anywhere I?d cycle just as usual, I wasn?t leaving the house that much?so I rode less. Happily that wore off at 12 weeks, after which it was?fine again. Over the last couple of weeks (I?m 39 weeks pregnant now)?I?ve started getting the tube for distances longer than 3-4 miles as I?m?getting much more tired more easily. In general, though, I?ve cycled in?pretty much exactly the same way. Just more slowly, especially?uphill?
What (if anything) surprised you about cycling while pregnant?
Don?t think anything did. I was expecting that I might get the odd?comment on the street (as other pregnant cycling friends have), but as?it?s been winter (so lots of layers) & my bump has never actually gotten?that huge, I don?t think it?s been at all obvious & no one has said?anything.
How did your family and friends react to you cycling while pregnant?
Complete lack of surprise ? I don?t think anyone would have expected me?to do anything other than keep cycling!
What (if any) special accommodations did you require to continue cycling?throughout your pregnancy?
I raised the handlebars on both bikes a few months in, which made it?much comfier. Since about 6-7 months I?ve been riding the fixie?exclusively as the bars on that went significantly higher, and the?geared bike just isn?t comfortable (I knee myself in the bump).?The only other ?accommodation? is more of a mental one ? accepting that?(especially as of about the last 2 months) I?m just a lot slower than??usual?, and I need to allow more time and take things a bit more
easily.
What would you say to another woman interested in cycling while?pregnant? What have you taken away from the experience?
Do it! Absolutely no reason why you shouldn?t, and it?s just as much the?best way to get around when you?re pregnant as it is when you?re not?pregnant.?For me I think it was simply not an option that I wouldn?t cycle ? just?wouldn?t have occurred to me. That?s how I get around the place! (And?public transport doesn?t become free when you get pregnant?) So I?m?not sure I?ve taken much away from it, as it just seems like a normal?thing to have done.
In addition to cycling, what other activities helped you stay fit and?active during your pregnancy?
Walking the dog; climbing (which I seem to have finally stopped at about?36 weeks though will not rule out another little go on the wall before?the baby gets here?), going out dancing.
Thanks, Juliet, and we hope you and your new family are doing well and adjusting well to life with a new baby! Want to hear from more women who cycled through their pregnancies? Check out additional reader profiles here! Happy cycling!
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