Biking for Babies, a national nonprofit organization that uses cycling to form missionary disciples and raise awareness and funds for pregnancy resources centers across the country, visited Gahanna St. Matthew the Apostle and Westerville St. Paul the Apostle. Bikers attended Sunday morning Masses at the two parishes.
They talked afterward with interested parishioners at tables set up in gathering spaces with information on their work.
The following day, the riders set off. One team went to Dayton and the other to Wooster, each covering 568 miles in six days, all the while spreading a message in their Biking for Babies jerseys.
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Sarah Wiese, Biking for Babies’ recruiting and marketing director, said the logo donned by the bikers and vehicles and individuals traveling alongside them effectively pique the interest of bystanders. “(They) are really good attention grabbers for people,” she said. “(We’re) all wearing our promotional t-shirts, and the vehicles themselves have these giant magnets on the side that say ‘Biking for Babies’.
“It’s kind of a spectacle in the best kind of way as we go across the country. People want to know what we’re doing, so if the bikers have stopped, they’ll go talk to them. And if the bikers keep going, usually (people will) be able to talk to our support crew who might be filling up on gas or water, different things like that, at gas stations. And we have lots of conversations that way.”
As missionaries, the Biking for Babies members rely on the generosity of locals in the towns where they ride. This year, teams were hosted again by the Fraziers, a family that owns a local bike shop called Bicycle One. “My family has owned a bicycle shop in Gahanna for over 50 years,” Allie Frazier said. “We are people of faith and we’re really very service oriented (in) … serving the community.”
It was 10 years ago that the Fraziers first encountered Biking for Babies. Some riders came into Bicycle One in need of a bike repair. Despite being about to close shop for the night, the Fraziers were eager to help and inquired about the riders’ excursion.
“They started to share their mission and … it was totally kismet because we were able to really be aligned in terms of their service to the community and really leaving that lasting legacy of making our community better,” Frazier said. From then on, it became a tradition for Bicycle One to do safety inspections on Biking for Babies’ bikes whenever they were in town.
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Riders also need lodging throughout the journeys. The Fraziers host them overnight in their homes, supporting the mission any way they can. “We … exist to be the hands and feet of Christ for those in need in the community,” Frazier said. “To be able to find an organization like Biking for Babies and truly to have the Lord … make our paths cross was incredibly impactful and I think life-changing for me.”
Frazier said her involvement with Biking for Babies has given her a stronger heart for service and a deeper faith. “The reality is, communities are hurting,” she said. “They need people who are strong in faith and serious about serving others. Biking for Babies, I think, really gives you an opportunity to take it to the next level in terms of really putting that faith into action and actually leaving a positive impact.”
This year, there were nine different Biking for Babies teams riding throughout the country, covering 20 different states.
According to Weise, the organization hopes to continue expanding. “Our grand plan … is to touch all 48 continental U.S. states,” she said. “(We’d like to) either partner with a pregnancy resource center in each of the states … or have a young adult participant from each of the states literally crossing the country with our mission.”
For more information on Biking for Babies, visit their website, www.bikingforbabies.com.
