Biking for Babies Brings Pro-Life Message To St. Louis via the Rockford Diocese
By LYnne Conner, Observer Correspondent
July 18, 2019
ROCKTON—The typically bustling household of Steve and Teresa Ambrose saw even more activity on July 9 with the arrival of 11 young adult missionaries who had biked to the couple’s rural homestead for an overnight stay.
The young adults represented the Northern U.S. on the Biking for Babies Ride A-cross America event which was held July 7-13.
The “Northern Missionaries” began their ride in Green Bay, Wis., taking a southerly route through Madison, Wis., Rockton, Ottawa, Peoria and Springfield on the way to the ride’s destination at a Celebration of Life in St. Louis, Mo.
Three other Biking for Babies teams left from points in Ohio, Mississippi and Colorado, headed to St. Louis as well where the routes of all four teams formed a cross on the map of America.
Biking for Babies is a non-profit organization which began 10 years ago as a way “to make supporting the pro-life movement more accessible to young people.”
The organization recruits college-age and young adult cyclists from churches across the U.S. and from the SEEK young adult Catholic conference.
Bikers raise funds on their own to participate in the summer Ride A-cross America. Any donations over the $150 participation fee go to support local pregnancy care centers along the route of the riders.
“The Biking for Babies Crew knows first-hand how challenging it is to put time, effort and training into a week of on-road biking while being sleep deprived and battling the weather,” said Teresa Ambrose.
“They can relate their biking trek to a woman facing the uncertainties of pregnancy,” she added. “The crew dedicates countless hours of prayer and self-sacrifice to raise money to support the Culture of Life and they do an amazing job!”
Ryan Arnoldy, a third year veteran of the Ride A-cross America event from Groveland, Mich., said the 2019 ride distinguished itself early on with a number of challenges for the cyclists.
“July 8 was easily one of our more interesting days. We started out around 5 a.m. with two flat tires before even making it out of the garage,” he said.
“Fifteen miles later, we had another flat and later in the day, we had two bikers fall,” he added. “Last year we didn’t have any falls and my first year we had one. Our fall count is up this year, but we just offer up our falls and setbacks on behalf of the babies.”
The northern route cyclists used mostly rural roads to complete their 600 mile trek from Green Bay to St. Louis. They travel with a support crew that helps organize the route, fix mechanical problems and keep the riders safe. Of the 11 northern missionaries, eight rode bikes and three provided support.
Though Biking for Babies does not have any religious affiliation, all 11 of the northern route group are Catholic and attended Mass each day of the ride.
“Fundraising for our ride is important; but our biggest goal in completing the Ride A-cross America is to raise awareness on pro-life issues and to support pregnancy resource centers. These centers and the pro-life services they provide are not well-known, especially in the main-stream media,” Arnoldy said.
“The Biking for Babies ride has a lot of unknowns along the way. We like to put ourselves in the shoes of an expectant mother who also has many unknowns along the way of her pregnancy,” Arnodly added.
“We can’t predict how things are going to work out, but we can lean on God to help us through the difficult times and the good times,” he said.
Info: Biking for Babies, www.bikingforbabies.com; SEEK young adult conference, https://www.sls20.org