My wife and I welcomed our second daughter into our family four weeks ago. It was a long and rough pregnancy for my wife. She was sick every day and had little energy to get on the trainer while she was pregnant. It was hard to watch from the outside, but she is as tough as they come and even supported me in my riding endeavors this year, which allowed me to rack up over 2,000 miles (3,219 km) by July.
If you have read my About page, you would know that biking was something I introduced to my wife when we first started dating back in 2016. At the time, it was an activity I did just to get some cardio in once a week during the summer to supplement my lifting. However, it quickly became my wife’s favorite activity. So much so that she rode the Triple Bypass in August 2022, exactly one year after the birth of our first daughter.
The Triple Bypass is a 118-mile (190 km) ride in the Colorado Rockies with 10,800 feet (3,292 m) of elevation, which is no small ride. So you can imagine going from the fitness level required to complete that in August to being pregnant in December and giving up riding for the next 9-months is hard to go through. As a man, I cannot even imagine what it’s like going so long without being on the bike. I can barely handle one week off of exercising before I go crazy. I very much appreciate my wife’s sacrifice she has made twice now for our family.
That said, I had the privilege to ride with my wife this weekend! She was feeling much better, despite being only 4-weeks postpartum! Her doctor cleared her to go for an easy and short ride, and my in-laws were visiting again. So knowing her we went out for an hour ride and did 15 miles (24 km)! Not a bad intro back into riding. For my wife, getting back on her bike and enjoying some fresh air and exercise really helps her postpartum recovery.
It was a beautiful day in Denver, with fall clearly on the horizon. The trees were just beginning to change, which means peak fall foliage is just around the corner. Any day is a good day out on the bike, but it is always better when it’s with our loved ones.
Here is to more fall rides before the weather gets cold. Just Get Out and Ride!
DRB
If you haven’t already check out my recent post on the best headphones for safer cycling.