How far can you ride with a baby?

[Crankin]

Well, I was a gym rat when my kids were really little, so at least they saw me exercising . However, we did do a lot of nature walks, etc, and I taught them to x country ski when they were 6 and 8. However, when I look at the family activities AMC has, I think, wow, my kids would have loved that hiking, riding, etc.
Fortunately, they went to a Mass. Audubon overnight camp for years,from ages 10-14 and there they learned all of the outdoor skills I didn't teach them! They slept in a tent for 4-6 weeks, one became great kayaker and the other learned how to sail. It was such a down to earth camp. They are both super active adults, so I guess I did my job.

[Kiwi Stoker]

Thanks for all the support and advice. We do have single road bikes so I get DH back to looking at a trailer then. Our tandem will just have to take a bit of a holiday for a while. Cycling is such a big part of our lives- the places we ahve been and friends we have made, I really don't want to put it to one side if possible. On of the reasons we have delayed having children is because we were so heavily involved in cycling but over the last year we have gradually become less race orientated and just about enjoying ourselves so I knew it was possible. Plus living in a city with heaps of cycle paths and seeing other families out and about on them has made us more happy.

All the info on trailers and bike seats say that the child has to be 9 months or older, so I am not looking to start riding with bubs any earlier than that.

I guess I am looking for reassurance that I can still enjoy a cycle ride regularly and have a child at the same time. Because other ladies I have meet either stop riding entirely when the baby comes or have taken up riding after their children are older/left home.

[Irulan]

All the info on trailers and bike seats say that the child has to be 9 months or older, so I am not looking to start riding with bubs any earlier than that.

I guess I am looking for reassurance that I can still enjoy a cycle ride regularly and have a child at the same time. Because other ladies I have meet either stop riding entirely when the baby comes or have taken up riding after their children are older/left home.

Pfft on them. Sure taking kids out is more work, logarithmically so at times, but it's so worth it. We did the following with our kids: bike, hike, ski, backpack (yes I backpacked with babies, you want to talk a ton of work) camping, and multi day river trips.

A few years ago a family of five rode across the US. I think their "parade" lol included a tandem with a trailabike but I'm not sure. I bet one of our google wizards can find the link.

[lph]

Pfft on them. Sure taking kids out is more work, logarithmically so at times, but it's so worth it.

Oh, absolutely.

You will probably need to be flexible about what you do and how far you go, and all kids are different, of course, but there is no end to the outdoor activities you can do with kids. Some things we found were just not worth the hassle taking kids to, like rock climbing. Parents we knew did take their kids, and enjoyed it, but we were fairly focussed on climbing for exercise and training, and found it hard to enjoy an outing when we always had to be ready to go feed someone, or throw pine cones into a stream instead ;-) Hiking with kids was great fun, though.

[NbyNW]

Congratulations Kiwi Stoker!

I don't know the answer to your question because I'm just trying to figure it out myself. DS is 9 months old and weighs 15 pounds. Right now he is starting to get really mobile -- quite a bit of pre-crawling, so one consideration is that I do want to make sure he gets a significant amount of his own "playtime" so that he can move around and develop his motor skills. Spending hours confined in a baby carrier or a stroller or carseat or bike trailer might not be conducive to that.

Right now he will nap for 40+ minutes in the afternoon, in a stroller or strapped to me in a carrier, when I take the dog for his walk. If I didn't have to walk the dog I would probably be exploring some kind of bike trailer option right now. Also, he still needs to eat quite frequently. The logistics go something like this: feed (20-40 minutes), change diaper, feed myself and use restroom, change diaper again, get dressed for going outside if I'm not already, clean up mess that baby made while I was taking care of myself (latest trick is to overturn a pitcher of water that we keep on the coffee table - which means yet another new diaper and a new outfit), make sure diaper bag is stocked, bundle up baby and strap him to me, or carry stroller down steps and strap baby in. So by the time we are ready to start our walk we may have at most 1.5 hours before he needs to eat again. So when we are out I either need to find some place warm and dog-friendly where I can nurse the baby or I have to get home. Yesterday we had him out with us in central London for about 5 hours. He did okay, but didn't nap like he usually does, so that had repercussions for our evening routine.

So basically at this stage I could see doing short, < 2-hour rides with the baby. Of course this means I would need to go bike shopping, since I left all my bikes in the US.

One question I have about bike trailers is whether or not they allow a baby to sit rear-facing. For car seats it is recommended (required in some places) that kids sit rear-facing until at least 2 years of age, because of the neck stability issues that others have mentioned. Given that you could get up to a decent clip even trailing a fair amount of weight, I'm wondering if rear-facing might also be a good idea for bike trailers. I'm pretty sure I've only seen forward-facing on the street, but I haven't done a whole lot of research.

[lph]

We used a Burley Solo trailer and a small reclining car seat that we strapped securely to the base frame of the trailer. It could equally well have faced backwards, but since the seat reclines so much that he was practically lying down I doubt it would have made much difference. The car seat took so much space that a regular size seat wouldn't fit, though, so when he outgrew the small one we put him straight into the built-in trailer seat. Which was pretty hammocky and gave poor support, to tell you the truth, especially with a bike helmet stuck on top... I think I would just count on keeping to a safe speed.

One thing that we never bought but I really wish we had was the add-on single wheel thingy for older kids, where they can pedal for themselves or just sit and enjoy the ride. I think it would have been a blast to have!

[NbyNW]

One thing that we never bought but I really wish we had was the add-on single wheel thingy for older kids, where they can pedal for themselves or just sit and enjoy the ride. I think it would have been a blast to have!

Our neighbors back in Seattle had a custom-built triple tandem built for this purpose. Not sure how old the girl was when they got it -- maybe 6 to 8 -- and she is now a young teenager. She has grown quite a bit, but they have been able to adjust the bike to keep up with her!

[shootingstar]

Cycling is something I enjoy with my husband and going out by myself isn't fun.

I cannot speak about children here (because I don't have any)....but my partner has 2 children. Even when his kids were 10 & 12, he did find he needed to go cycling for 1-2 hrs. on his own on weekends.

Some of us are in life circumstances that our partners aren't always around for days or for several weeks. So we do go cycling by ourselves: we have no choice if we want to remain healthy/sane or need to get somewhere by bike. Even finding a friend to cycle together doesn't happen that often for some of us.

The good thing, kiwi, is that you have a partner who also cycles: he would already understand your need to bicycle either with him or on your own. Some other couples have problems when only 1 cycles solo often.

Wonderful photos, lph!

[Crankin]

I mostly ride with my husband, too, but I absolutely believe in the need to get away for at least 45 minutes on your own, for everyone, but especially for new mothers! I might not go as far or as long (generally rides of 15-25 miles) by myself, but I'm still riding.

[luvmyguys]

I mostly ride with my husband, too, but I absolutely believe in the need to get away for at least 45 minutes on your own, for everyone, but especially for new mothers! I might not go as far or as long (generally rides of 15-25 miles) by myself, but I'm still riding.

I wasn't into biking (or any other sports, for that matter) when my kids were babies, but oh, yes, I so agree with this! Maybe some moms don't need it as much, but I most certainly did. At the time, I'd go hang out at Starbucks with a craft or a good book. Exercise is even better, of course, but yes, time out was very necessary in my case.

[Kiwi Stoker]

I'm pretty lucky for have a 24 hour access gym 750m away from my house, so at least I can "escape" rain, hail or shine whenever DH is home to look after bubs. Also the local library is only 1.5km away as well and opens late.

[Melalvai]

A few years ago a family of five rode across the US. I think their "parade" lol included a tandem with a trailabike but I'm not sure. I bet one of our google wizards can find the link.

Was it the Pedouins you were thinking of?

[velo]

I guess I am looking for reassurance that I can still enjoy a cycle ride regularly and have a child at the same time. Because other ladies I have meet either stop riding entirely when the baby comes or have taken up riding after their children are older/left home.

I am sorry if I came across as negative in my last post. When I talk about babe's temperament, I was just saying that whatever we might plan, there is another brand new human with their own personality that may affect our "best laid plans". Nobody can give any reassurances because every baby is different. Any reassurance would be false. Unfortunately, you just have to wait and see.

I did have to stop riding entirely. I have a child that did and still kind of does, get sick from motion. It was extreme when she was younger. I won't bore you with details, but my riding plans went out the window for a few years when I became a mother because I couldn't take her with me (she'd scream and throw up) and I couldn't leave her (she was a marathon nurser).

I hear the same thing you are hearing - for a multitude of reasons (children who don't nap, are very active and won't sit still in a trailer or seat, nurse 'round the clock, etc.) riding has to be abandoned for a period of time. But boy are they worth it. I hope your child is one that naps well, doesn't nurse all the time, is not motion sick, and entertains him/herself well. Nobody told me this stuff and I was in for the surprise of my life. I wish someone had warned me that my ideal was likely not going to happen.

Now, I'm working on getting her brave enough to dive with me. Thought I'd get myself a dive buddy after 16 years or so, and now that we're a few years away from that, I find that she has NO interest in the water. Bummer. They do have their own ideas!!

Best of luck, but keep an open mind. And again, congratulations!!

ETA: She also didn't want to learn to ride a bike until she was 10 because of the motion sickness... so I REALLY had to change my plans! LOL!

[Crankin]

I really don't want to sound negative, etc., but ah, while it's understandable one couldn't ride with a child in a trailer because of all of the above things mentioned, what about just continuing riding alone, even if it's for short jaunts? While long rides and regular group stuff might be out for awhile, regular exercise is one thing that keeps away post partum depression and helps a mom keep her sanity and self-identity. Although I didn't ride when my kids were babies and young children, I did go to the gym 6 days a week. I was back there 3 weeks postpartum with both of them; it was my escape, if only for a little over an hour.
I know everyone's different, but I made a vow not to let having kids turn me into someone I wasn't. I know it sounds selfish to some, but I had a lot of experience taking care of babies and kids, as well as a few years of teaching experience when i had my first child, so I had a pretty clear idea of baby "stuff." DH and I made the decision that our relationship always came first in the family, and together, we would deal with the kid stuff. This worked for us, as we each maintained our lives apart from the family, but we had lots of fun while they grew up. I do sincerely regret that we didn't do the outdoor stuff with them, although all 4 of us developed these types of interests later. Both of my kids are awesome endurance type athletes as adults and enjoy hiking, camping, and swimming.
I just wish that I had strapped them into a backpack and gone hiking in AZ, instead of getting a sitter and going to the gym! Doing this kind of stuff just wasn't in my head, and I really wish it had been.
I just don't like it when prospective parents think that their life has to be over...

[velo]

I just don't like it when prospective parents think that their life has to be over...

Who said life has to be over? It's riding a bike. Life doesn't have to be over, but quite reasonably, expectations and activities may have to change. That's not "life over" and it sure isn't negative. It's just change. I don't like it when people tell prospective parents that life won't change when kids come along. It invariably will, but nobody can predict how it will or to what degree. Thinking of various scenarios is not negative, it's pragmatic.