8 Weird Ways Having a Baby Changes Your Cycling
You may need a(nother) bike fit.
If you rode during pregnancy, you no doubt noticed that your new passenger affected your pedaling position. At the same time, your levels of the hormones progesterone and relaxin increased, causing ligaments and joints to loosen. That’s great for pushing a baby into the world, but not so good for your posture on the bike—and it can take several months for hormone levels to return to normal postpartum. In the meantime, “if you’re having discomfort, there are adjustments that can be made,” says Lori Hoefer, owner of Wheel Wisdom in Fairfield, Connecticut, which offers skills clinics and bike fittings with a special emphasis on female cyclists. “Maybe the bars need to be put more upright for a couple months until you’ve regained your hip stability.”
Related: How to Find the Best Saddle for You
You rethink your relationship with your saddle.
Post-baby, “a lot of people’s pelvises end up wider,” says Leah Benson, owner of the women-focused bike shop Gladys Bikes, in Portland, Oregon. “The bones don’t always settle back into the exact same place.” If your go-to bike seat is no longer comfortable, you might need a wider model—or a completely different style entirely. “We see a lot of people who have had episiotomies or tearing of their labia and vagina during delivery,” says Benson. That might mean switching to—or away from—a design with a cutout. “For some women they work great; for others, they pinch in all the wrong places,” she says.
You discover new muscles.
Bouncing Junior to sleep day and night might not earn you any QOMs, but it’s a workout of its own. Turns out your muscles don’t care whether you’re squatting and lunging in the gym or at home in the nursery. So if you, say, find a weird lump above your knee while shaving your legs, check the other limb before freaking out that you have a tumor. It’s probably just your newly sculpted quad.
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Standing climbing might feel easier than seated climbing.
Climbing out of the saddle requires about 10 percent more energy than you’d expend if you stayed seated. But if your pre-baby cycling routine relied heavily on spin classes, or if you spend a lot of time on your feet rocking your little one, you may actually feel more comfortable standing on the pedals once you’re back on the bike.
To improve your seated climbing, work these efforts from Selene Yeager, author of Get Fast!, into a hilly ride: While riding at a moderate pace—5 or 6 on a perceived exertion scale of 1 (easy) to 10 (all-out)—and at a cadence of 75 rpm, stay seated on climbs until you're about 500 yards from the top. Then accelerate without standing (use your gears) until you're 10 seconds past the summit.
Getting out on your bike for just 30 minutes used to make you feel:
But now it’s more like:
RELATED: How to Get Back on the Bike After Having a Baby
You eat your recovery snacks on the road.
Your tiny human doesn’t give a $#%! about the glycogen window. If she didn’t eat while you were riding (or possibly even if she did), she’s likely to request a meal once she has you in her sights, especially if you’re breastfeeding. Consider it one more reason to stop at the local coffee shop before heading home. Might as well pee in peace while you’re there, too.
The cycling garment on your lust list these days? A… sports bra.
Speaking of breastfeeding, the Fast Food, made by Swedish maternity wear company Boob Design (seriously), makes nursing before or after a ride fast and simple. The super supportive sports bra has silky but quick-drying fabric, padded shoulder straps, and a front panel that unsnaps easily with one hand. At $89, it’s a splurge—but far more useful than so many new-baby gifts (really, it’s okay to return that wipe warmer).
RELATED: How to Buy a Sports Bra
You’ll never see your bike the same way again.
Need yet another reminder that bicycles are the most amazing machines in the world? Watch Baby’s expression while you spin your bike’s rear wheel.
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