At this point, you can feel and even see the shape of your baby right below the surface of your belly. As your mothering instincts kick in, your baby will kick you to remind you to be cautious this trimester.
Unfortunately, there just isn’t a helmet you can strap onto that belly. Imagine braking abruptly and hitting the handlebars with your belly, or skidding sideways and having the bike land on top of you, or, worse, being involved in an accident with a car. It’s not just you who will be bruised and battered; it could mean bad news for your developing fetus. I advise choosing your bike route with caution (look for paths reserved for cyclists and pedestrians) or trying a sta¬tionary bike. And think about taking up another outdoor activity that you can enjoy for the rest of your pregnancy, like hiking.
If you climb on a bike this trimester, you’ll find that your big belly simply gets in the way of pedaling as your knees bump your uterus. Even leaning for¬ward slightly to hold the handlebars can put a lot of pressure on your lower abdomen, especially as your baby settles into the pelvis. I promise you’ll enjoy biking a lot more when your baby is riding in a bike seat behind you.
If you just don’t want to give up your biking routine, I recommend trying an indoor recumbent bike. These bikes allow you to recline so that you are not crowding your uterus and they also have comfortable, wide seats so you don’t get a sore crotch. A half hour on a recumbent bike three times a week—especially if you program in a few inclines—is a terrific workout.
You may have a surprise in store for you when you get back on the bike after delivery, even after taking an extended break from biking. As one pro-cycling mother puts it, it’s the phenomenon of the “iiber-mommies”: after relatively lazy second and third trimesters and a few weeks of post-delivery recovery, this mom found that she developed six-pack abs and upped her racing class when she took up training again. As many fit women discover, pregnancy and the rigors of delivery had left her supercharged and more fit than ever.
