And Mothers Across the Country Give a Knowing Nod

I took this photo on my first ride after I found out I was pregnant. All I could think was, "Is riding the right thing to do?"
Okay. So pregnancy isn't going to be the cake walk I'd hoped for, in fact, let's not talk about cake. Or any other food for that matter.

In the first glowing days of my pregnancy I'd foolishly figured, "I'm tough, I'll be fine." The tough don't look so tough when you're passed out on the couch. I can't believe I'm sleeping so much-- 10 to 11 hours a day. I don't have energy to eat, not that I want too, much less swing my leg over a bike saddle. Plus, keeping my heart rate below 140 is much harder than I thought it was going to be. Grandma's on their merry way to get ice cream are passing me.

And, I'm going to be honest, I'm freaking myself out about riding. The "what ifs" are killing my enthusiasm. I'm not a high risk pregnancy, and obviously if my body thought I was healthy enough to get pregnant while riding, it must be good for me. But what about accidents? There is a saying in biking, "You aren't a cyclist until you've broken your collar bone." Under normal circumstances this doesn't phase me, but I'm not so sure now.

Plus, I don't think little Amberic wouldn't be to happy about that taking a corkscrew ride over the handle bars. And the possibility of a miscarriage is there for any woman-- colitis or not, bike riding or not-- but if I do, and I'm riding, I'd never forgive myself. Regardless, if the riding was the cause or not.

So, I've decided to not ride this year. However, next year... I'm due March 26. What better way to drop the baby weight than to train for a 3 day, 210 mile bike ride, with little Amberic strapped safely in in his/her wagon?