Parenthood and cycling are a dubious mix at best.
Cycling enthusiast Cari Noga discovered that even before her son, Owen Henderson, was born in 2005. A serious cyclist for years who led bike tours that racked up many miles per season, Noga is the author of Road Biking Michigan and a member of the Cherry Capital Cycling Club. Pregnancy and a growing belly sidelined her riding during the 2005 season after years of immersion in the sport.
"I had a decent ride at the time in April of that year, when I was about 20 weeks pregnant and I was like, 'Oh, I'm not doing this anymore,'” she recalled. "It was just too hard to ride bent over with the belly, I had to stop.”
Determined to integrate two of her passions, Noga purchased a bike trailer and outfitted her son by the time he was six months old. She launched Pedaling Parents last year to bridge the gap and provide a cycling venue geared to kids and safety.
"Just the idea that you're riding with a group of people who are not going to mind if you have to calm your screaming child or put out some snacks or pick up a toy out of reach,” said Noga, adding that the jump-on-and-pedal days are long gone. Now her trip prep requires extra time to cajole her son into his helmet and for any last-minute diaper changes.
Safety is key and Noga chose the routes for the Saturday road rides based on good road shoulders and minimal traffic. The two Wednesday morning rides each month are on trails.
"My whole sense of safety changed quite a bit,” she noted.
In 2006, the informal group drew just a sprinkling of riders and their children; some days Noga and Owen rode alone. Even the lure of a stop at the Farmers Market or finishing up at story time at the Traverse Area District Library afterwards did not boost Wednesday morning numbers.
Taking stock of the Pedaling Parents idea this spring, Noga changed the time to 9 a.m. instead of 8, acknowledging that not all youngsters were early birds like her son. She drew up another schedule of child-friendly Wednesday morning trail rides and longer Saturday road rides. Some snazzy brochures with a photo of her smiling son in a bike trailer — "cute kid pr” — dropped at area bike shops are also promoting the rides.
Nicole Anderson-Wilder attended her first ride last Wednesday after seeing the brochure in a bike shop. She strapped her son Emery, 4, in a bike seat and rode with Noga and her son plus another mom and her two children out the TART Trail past Cherry Bend Road and back.
After his recent birthday, however, Emery will ride in style in a new bike trailer where he can read books, snack and play with toys.
"I'm thinking about going again, it's fun to be able to meet other parents with kids of similar ages,” she said of Pedaling Parents events.
Pedaling Parents also reflects Noga and her husband, Mike's, commitment to alternative transportation and instilling respect for the environment in their son. Signs so far are good as his first three-syllable word was bicycle.
"That's part of the goal, to get him sensitized to the idea that you don't always have to get into a car,” said Noga, recalling that her dad frequently rode his bike to work. "I hope he picks up some of our ethic.”
For more information on Pedaling Parents, see the web site www.carinoga.com, scroll down and select the Pedaling Parents option. The next Wednesday morning ride is scheduled for June 27 at 9 a.m.; riders meet near the gazebo at Hull Park behind the Traverse Area District Library.