Pregnancy is an absolutely beautiful experience, but it can be very challenging working out what you can and can’t do. You have to watch what sort of foods you eat, avoid certain activities, and make sure that you’re catering your lifestyle to the safety of your unborn baby.
If you have a very adventurous or active lifestyle, you might find that you have to limit some of those activities until your little one enters the world.
If you’ve found your way to this article, you’re probably wondering if you can ride a bike while you’re pregnant. Well.. we have all the answers that you’re looking for.
Can I Ride A Bike While Pregnant?
In short yes, you can ride a bike while you’re pregnant, so you don’t have to stop doing this activity. But it is important that you change up the way you ride a little bit.
A lot of how you ride your bike depends on how far along in your pregnancy you are too. Keep that in mind.
Though riding a bike is pretty safe overall, whether you’re pregnant or not, there’s always the risk of falling or crashing.
These aren’t things that happen all the time and it’s overall a very low-risk activity, but there are lots of precautions you need to take if you’re riding for two. Let’s have a look at some of them now!
Gearing Up
When you’re in your first trimester or even the first half of your second, you won’t have to worry about changing up your gear and bike so much.
If you’re a bit further along though and your bump is making it hard to lean over and ride how you usually would, there are a few ways you can work around it.
As your hips get wider during pregnancy, you may want to swap out your normal saddle for a wider one. This will make the bike much easier to ride and will help in keeping you comfortable.
If you feel like your bike is too small for your now big baby bump, it may be in your best interest to switch over to a mountain bike or even a commuter bike that has a step-thru frame.
These larger bikes will give you more room to place your stomach and won’t cause you to feel squished and cramped.
Always Ride With Someone
Regardless of if you are quite an experienced and skilled rider, when you are pregnant, safety for you and your baby must come first.
You really shouldn’t ride a bike alone during your pregnancy, because even if you do have the skill, if something goes wrong, you won’t have the support around you if you’re alone.
Having a partner ensures that these safety precautions are being met. Your partner can ride in front of you and signal for any traffic that is coming or assess an area if it seems a bit sketchy and unsafe.
It’s a lot easier to maneuver away from danger when you aren’t pregnant, so your partner can take on this responsibility and you don’t have to worry about getting into a situation that could be dangerous for you and your baby.
Keep Yourself Hydrated & Take It Slow
Above everything else, you need to make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water and you’re riding at a slow, relaxed pace. You will need to drink more water than your usual amount when you’re pregnant. As long as you keep on top of that, you should be fine.
It’s also important to keep a slower pace when you’re riding. This will keep any dehydration at bay for longer, and you can enjoy your bike ride for longer.
Your baby is sharing your energy, so if you try and speed along, you will get tired a lot faster. It’s also a lot safer to take it slow so you don’t risk crashing or colliding with any pedestrians or cars.
As long as you keep yourself hydrated and you keep your pace slow and steady, you can have a lovely bike ride with no unnecessary risks.
Relearn How To Keep Yourself Balanced
It’s quite well known that during your first trimester, your balance will start to feel a bit more off. This is one of many reasons why it’s slightly controversial to ride a bike when you are pregnant.
You will need to relearn how to keep yourself balanced and a lot of riding a bike during this time will depend on your previous experience and frequency of using a bike.
If you’re extremely comfortable on a bike, and you cycle a lot, you might not notice the imbalance so much, so riding won’t be as much of a challenge.
If you didn’t spend much time on a bike before you got pregnant though, you may want to reassess if it’s worth the risk.
If you feel that it might not be a good idea, you should probably reconsider it during your pregnancy.
Keep monitoring your balance though. Just because your balance may be off for a little while, that doesn’t mean it will always be off during your pregnancy. Trust in your intuition and motherly instincts when it comes to this. You will know if riding a bike is safe or not.
Don’t Push Yourself
And finally, don’t push yourself when you’re riding pregnant. This isn’t the time to train and get better at biking, this is a time just to enjoy it. Once you feel tired, stop riding for the day. If you’re getting out of breath, stop riding.
Now isn’t the time to push your body to its limits. Just remember to keep that in mind when you’re riding while pregnant.
Conclusion
Although there is no official reason why you shouldn’t ride a bike while pregnant, it is still a controversial topic. But a lot of riding while pregnant has to do with your own individual experience.
Trust your intuition and body and gauge how and when you ride accordingly.
