Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” If we give fully weight to this quote, I believe those on this year’s Eastern Ride have fulfilled the purpose of life for the next few lifetimes!
We were pioneers, forging the path for those who come behind us, across the Great…whatever part of the country lies between Pittsburgh and St. Louis (forgive me, I’m a Southern girl). We fought giants, slayed dragons, and took a few hits in between. But in the end, we came out on top, going where no cyclist has gone before (allegedly).
Let me explain.
Never in the history of Biking for Babies have we biked through this part of the country, and moreover, none of our riders/missionaries are from this part of the country and could help us to understand the terrain, the roads, the cities.
We were completely on uncharted territory, and didn’t know what to expect beyond what some of us had experienced on other B4B rides. Unlike the Northern and Southern rides, we had fewer parish events/dinners and as a result, less en-route, face-to-face encouragement from supporters (Although what we received from our hosts was beautiful and certainly providential!).
And then came our “incidents.” And wow, we had so many incidents. Ultimately hiccups in our path, these particular experiences were granted this name so that we could keep a mental list of the challenges we faced.
We know that the Enemy does not like when Good is being done or shared, and he knew that our journey this year had the ability to lay the groundwork for so much more Good. So he was hitting us with everything he go from the get go. In our first two days alone, we: had to change/majorly adjust plants because of riders getting into our starting location at 1am before we rode at 6; rain you couldn’t see through; county roads with switchbacks at a 45 degree angle; tornado warnings; overly busy roads; and even two malfunctioning bikes on our first day.
Our team also faced WAY too much road work with impassable roads, consistent thunderstorms followed by unforgiving sun and sweltering heat, flooded roads, unmarked gravel roads, and even a road that didn’t exist (thanks Google Maps…).
We experienced near heat exhaustion, misdirections, physical discomfort (our ride was sponsored by Vaseline and baby powder), and were even close to an automobile collision.
To say that we experienced “a lot” on this ride was an understatement.
But you know, our incidents made us laugh after a while because we realized what the Enemy was doing, and we wouldn’t let him stop us. We knew we had a mission to do, and we were going to do it #forthebabies no matter what was put in our way.
One of the fruits of a Biking for Babies ride is in some way to experience the unexpectedness of a crisis pregnancy. We increase our solidarity with them by offering up any sufferings or complications or frustrations.
After reading the aforementioned incidents, you now know that we had NO shortage of things to offer up.
But what you don’t know is how amazing it was to experience those things, to recognize where they came from, to ask for and receive the grace to overcome them, and to move forward, fully trusting in God to take care of us.
Because within the incidents and outside of the incidents, there was immeasurable beauty, joy, trust, hope, and radical love. The fact that we were able to feel the sun, to choose to overcome, to be joyful—those moments reminded us of the beauty of our life, and we were invited not to take them for granted.
While the lows may have pushed our limit in terms of quantity, they had nothing on the quality of our highs. After our crazy first day, we recognized that our inability to pray together (due to the road conditions) was hindering us from performing the best we could—physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, socially, etc.
So every day from then on, both support crew and riders offered at minimum a Rosary and/or Chaplet of Divine Mercy throughout our day. We spent time with Christ in the tabernacle, in Sacred Scripture, in each other, and finally on our second to last day, in the Eucharist.
We spent good time with each other, including one evening where we cooked dinner for each other instead of having an event and spent time learning about why we are involved with B4B and why we are pro-life. One day, we had enough time for the riders to hop off their bikes and say a rosary during the middle of the day as a full team.
God’s graces were overflowing on our journey. Just as women who trust in God even when their unplanned pregnancy has brought tribulations, frustration, and suffering, we too found hope and resolution in relying wholeheartedly on God and seeing the fruits of prayer.
From providing us with places to stay along the route less than a month before the ride began to meeting a family-owned bike shop with pro-life values along the way, the Lord had our back in the most amazing ways.
Click here to watch daily videos from our ride: www.youtube.com/bikingforbabies.
To Carly and the students at Franciscan University in Steubenville; Cathy Bender and family; Victoria with AIM Women’s Center; Mary and those at St. Therese Retreat Center in Columbus; Fr. Mike and those at St. Joseph’s parish in Shelbyville; Roy, Emily, Fr. John, and all those at the Neuman Center at Eastern Illinois University; and our family and friends who supported us at the Celebration of Life and in your prayers: THANK YOU! Your prayers of safe travels and perseverance were indeed felt!
A special thank you to my wonderful fiance Timothy for wholeheartedly supporting me in my sometimes exhausting work with Biking for Babies…and for borrowing 25 air mattresses from friends and family in Daphne, AL and trucking them all they way to St. Louis for our Celebration of Life.
To God be the Glory! From Sarah C. on behalf of Kevin, Dirk, Stacy, Daniel, and Will.
