Bicycle Built for Two (plus)

By Guest Blogger
Daniel Sherwood

Last month we discovered possibly the best invention in transportation for pregnancy since priority seating on public transit. It sure is nice to have friends around and Claudia has many. Berkeley can feel like a small town, our own little Wasilla, surrounded on all sides like an island in a sea of mega city. It's hard to go to the farmer's market or to see some music without bumping into a few friends.

One of Claudia's long time Berkeley buddies, Kailin, who still lives at his parent's old house behind a huge banana tree in north Berkeley did us the great favor of lending us his tandem cruiser. It's an old school, bright yellow, steel frame, fixed gear ride for two with a large basket on the front handlebars.

I get a sense of what it feels like to be famous when I tow Claudia and her belly around town. We are greeted everywhere by smiles and shouts along the lines of "She's not peddling!" or "That bike fits two and a half!".

It helps of course to have California weather. The Santa Anna winds have been blowing hot desert air out towards the sea for the last several days and consequently the temperature has reached 80 degrees (that's 26 for you folks north of the border).

Yesterday we took advantage, brought the tandem to San Francisco and pedaled through Golden Gate park, past the living roof on the new Academy of Sciences building, past herds of buffalo and the roller skating disco all the way out to Ocean Beach.

I felt spoiled lying on the beach on a beautiful sunny day less than a week from Halloween. Add a couple bloody mary's to the mix, one virgin, one not, and you've got a perfect day that re-affirms the fact that you can still have fun while 8 months pregnant.

Solar Conference San Diego

I spent this week in San Diego at the Solar Power International Conference. It's the world's largest solar conference and a good time. Even with 12,000 attendees I felt like a celebrity as I carried my 35+ week belly around the conference center and in and out of meetings. Being so pregnant actually worked to my favor. At such a large event with solar big shots present, I got more than my typical share of face time as both men and woman asked after my health and due date. So many folks shared a story from their wife's birth or own pregnancy. I was definitely more than another face in the crowd. Plus I think I earned some extra props for traveling, working and smiling with a huge baby in utero.

The solar energy industry and policy world is full of very cool people. The typical solar nerd tends to be eco-minded, forward thinking, adventurous and young. Plus there are a lot of women at the top. Martha Duggan, a VP at SunEdison told me this was in part because when electricity was de-regulated several years ago, a lot of women got out of the old boy queue at utilities and led the way at new companies in a newly competitive market. More than a few leading women in solar have shared both their enthusiasm for being a mother and a kick-ass solar leader. The stories of testifying before the state utilities commission two days before a due date or taking five months off to be with her new baby have both inspired and reassured me. Is there a secret club of professional moms that you join after having a baby?

Many folks asked me about whether the airline let me fly. Southwest Airlines says flying is fine through the 28th week and does not require a doctors note. Maybe those cheerful flight attendants are also skilled labor coaches? I was not worried about the 90 minute flight. I did worry about being overly tired, but Daniel attended the conference too and so I knew I had a good personal assistant. Mostly I had worried about what I was going to wear. I wish I had pictures but I think I looked pretty spiffy in two blue maternity dresses I got second hand recently and a pair of maternity gaucho shorts and top purchased late Friday night. With the dresses, I refused to concede to my condition and wore the cutest turquoise and navy open-toe wedge heels. The best compliment you can give a pregnant woman is to call her a hot mama. I smiled every time someone said so.

San Diego was a great trip. I built on relationships key for my policy work. I had fun at the open bar and appetizer parties every night. I asked my co-workers to down a free drink for me, and I think I may have come out on top as I was clear-headed each morning. And it was great to be with Daniel. We both realized what a joy it was to be foot-loose and fancy free, my 11 o'clock curfew not with standing, to schmooze with solar friends, change flights at a moments notice, ride a beach cruiser from the hotel to conference grounds. I was aware it may be awhile before we travel with such ease.

Election Baby

When people ask me when I am due, as they do. I often reply, right after the election.

Yes the presidential election has taken on even greater importance for me as it coincides with the coming of my first child. Everyone tells us that the baby will "blow our world" apart but still I don't want the disappointment of a McCain presidency seeping into the edges of my joy.
Even moreso I want to imagine my child coming into a world where a black man can be president of the United States. Into a country that is turned towards reason, care of humanity and a clean energy future. Seriously, every time I think of Obama addressing an audience in France where brown minorities are still second class citizens or presidents in Africa, I get chills on my skin. I do believe that these moments come. I am cautiously hopeful that Obama will win. That and I am religiously checking realclearpolitics.com to see what the polls say. All polls say Obama by a slim margin.

So after I say the baby is due around election time. I say that I am planning on calling the baby "Hope". Pretty good huh?

Pregnant with Commute

I work in San Francisco. In SOMA, the South of Market District. I really enjoy my job- we do cutting edge solar energy policy and advocacy at Vote Solar. And I work with some pretty smart and clever people. Just Monday my boss said he thought we should send every member of Congress a duck with one leg. I giggled for 30 minutes.

But I live in Berkeley, the sunnier, crunchier, plainer cousin to San Francisco. That means to get to work I must commute. The Bay Area being so...cool, I have two good options. Casual carpool and BART.

To get to work, I take casual carpool. Casual carpool has been going on for about two decades. I think the '89 earthquake caused bridge collapse was the start of it. Casual carpool is a collection of maybe a dozen places around the Bay where drivers stop to pick up two passengers so that they may use the carpool lane. The driver gets free passage through the tolls and no restrictive metering lights. The carpool lane can cut anywhere for 10-50 minutes off a commute. Everything is very business casual- freshly showered passengers, a tacit no talking rule that is rarely broken. The passengers are dropped off in downtown SF to make their own way to their offices. The casual carpool runs for the same hours as the carpool lane- 7 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. I have no idea how many thousands of people get to work that way every day.

My other option is BART, the bay area metro. I love BART. I chose my apartment by its proximity to BART. I consider a Metro a must for my home city. BART is no NYC subway but I'll take it. I ride BART home, since their is no afternoon casual carpool (no fees outward across the bridge, no carpool). BART has gotten very, very crowded during rush hour since gas prices skyrocketed. Even for a pregnant lady, it is not easy to get a seat. It's usually some 40-ish mother or a new father, that offer me a seat. I mean to send BART a note requesting public service announcements reminding people to vacate the disability seats near the door.

With BART or the carpool, I have a walk at either end. In fact, walking to and from stations or pick-ups means that I walk a minimum of 3 miles everyday. I used to love this. The beautiful yards in my Berkeley neighborhood, the numerous coffee shops, the sharp SF work crowd. Now I have to admit I find the 1.5 miles each way exhausting. I collapse into my comfy work chair or lunge for the sofa at home. And for the last several months, Daniel has driven me to the carpool pick-up station. Now I know I am really pregnant. I am winded on these short walks.

I have five more weeks of work. I can't imagine driving to work ($10/day parking aside) so I wonder what I will do if I get more tired. Thankfully, I no longer work Wednesdays. The two day, break, two day rhythm is a God-send.