posted 11/11/2025
This story is a part of a series of missionary contributions where you’ll hear more about their “why” for defending and celebrating life with Biking for Babies. We interview Maria, a first-year missionary, who rode from Columbus, OH, to St. Louis this summer. Read on!
Give me a quick biography: who is Maria Lohmann?
I am the youngest of four girls, with triplet older sisters, meaning I grew up with 3 built-in best friends. I lived most of my life in Pittsburgh, as a member of St Alexis Parish, where I have been involved in volunteer opportunities in the community. I love to be active and I am always down to try a new sport, and spend time with my family and friends. I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last summer, moved back home to Pittsburgh, PA, and started working as a pediatric dietitian in January 2024. I have gotten involved in the Catholic young adult community in Pittsburgh to grow in my relationship with Christ and come to know Him more deeply. To share the love of Christ with others, you must know Him. I want to grow in my love for Christ and share that love with the world.
What initially drew you to Biking for Babies your first year, and what keeps you coming back?
I first heard about Biking for Babies in January 2022 from my good friend Lauren Woelffer. I was unable to be a missionary those first two years I knew about it because of the way my grad school schedule was set up with internships over the summer, but from the first conversation with Lauren about Biking for Babies, I knew it was something I needed to do.
I have always loved a challenge, maybe because I grew up always trying to keep up with my three older sisters. The opportunity to dive deeper in my faith, alongside like-minded young adults, while experiencing something new and challenging sounded like something right up my alley.
The training was more difficult than I initially anticipated, especially because I did almost all of it alone. I had imagined training rides with my best friends, so riding alone for months was draining mentally. When viewed through the lens of what a mother without support goes through, the training became a sacrifice I could offer up as a way of loving all the babies and mamas in need.
The National Ride provided its own challenges too, in ways I had not anticipated. The Lord really called me to trust Him and rely on Him completely to provide throughout the week.
What qualities or personal missions/charisms within yourself are now enhanced or grown because of your formation with Biking for Babies?
Growing up Catholic, I had learned about sacrificial love and redemptive suffering, but I never really understood it. Throughout my formation with Biking for Babies, I have come to a greater understanding and appreciation for this aspect of our faith. The smallest of actions can transform someone’s life and help make the world a better place when it is done out of love and offered up for the Lord to use according to His will.
The parallels between the preparation, training, and all that the National Ride encompasses and a pregnant mother and the challenges she faces, astounded me. You can find a correlation between just about any challenge you face and one that a pregnant mother may experience.
I found that my joy was multiplied on the National Ride. I would say I am a joyful person in general, but on the National Ride I felt so full of joy. There was so much joy to be experienced in the suffering as well. Riding almost 600 miles is hard. Spending the week with people you have never met in person before is hard, but the joy shared during the days on the bike, in the support crew van, with the host families, and strangers you meet along the way— I don’t think anything compares to it.
What was your favorite memory or experience from formation this year? What was your favorite part of being a rider missionary?
It’s hard to choose just one favorite memory. There were so many incredible and special moments, especially throughout the National Ride. I loved watching the sunrise on the bike with my teammates, sharing laughs over lunch and on the bike, and riding into St Joe’s in St Louis with so many other missionaries as we were welcomed by family and friends. The whole week was truly a beautiful experience.
My favorite part about being a rider missionary was offering up the challenges, aches, and pains of riding almost 600 miles. Praying the rosary on the bike with my teammates was a powerful and beautiful experience of being a rider missionary. The combination of athletics and prayer shared with people I came to love and enjoy long days on the bike with was so incredible.
Now that you’re on the tail end of formation with Biking for Babies, what are three things you wish you knew before joining Biking for Babies or at the start of your journey?
- Be prepared to accept the unexpected. You can only be prepared, you cannot plan for everything than can or will happen. Pray the litany of trust daily because you will need to trust God completely and let the week happen according to His will, not what you expected or planned for the week.
- There are no bad things that happen on the National Ride- only things. This was said by another missionary on Day 0 of the National Ride and created the framework for how I viewed the rest of the week. Things happened, that’s for sure. Things that it would be easy to say were bad things, but when you allow the Lord to work through the week according to His will, there are no bad things, because He brings good through all circumstances. The most difficult moments on the National Ride, moments where it felt like God was not present, when I reflect on them now, I can see the ways and people the Lord was working through and how He was present with us, riding alongside us, in every moment- in both the ows and the wows, as the “Ohio Wild West” route called our highs and lows.
- Be prepared to make sacrifices during the preparation for the National Ride. At the beginning of formation, you repeatedly are told that you will have to make sacrifices, whether it’s social plans you say no to so you can attend a B4B team meeting, a day when the last thing you feel like doing is getting in the saddle, or hours spent alone on the bike or in the gym. I was warned about these sacrifices, but I still thought I could do it all; I couldn’t. It was hard to say no to plans with friends, go to the gym or get in the saddle when I was tired after a long day at work. It’s hard, but it’s so worth it. Invite friends to either be a missionary with you, or to at least join you on some training rides. It will make it so much more enjoyable and a lot easier to get on your bike.
What advice would you share with someone in your state of life about joining Biking for Babies and its impact on you in your state of life?
In my experience, becoming a Biking for Babies missionary during this state of my life as a young, unmarried, working woman was a perfect time to be a missionary. The Church needs young people to be inspired, full of the Holy Spirit, and on fire for their faith.
My Biking for Babies formation allows me to now go and share my experience with other young adults I encounter, to invite them into the B4B family, to grow in their own relationships with Christ alongside young adults across the nation. There are sacrifices involved no matter the state of life you are in as a missionary, but in my experience, the sacrifices I had to make were so worth it.
Also, many young women facing an unplanned pregnancy are in the same state of life I am currently in, so there is a lot to reflect on in how their lives are impacted and the support they need.
Maria’s willingness to do the hard thing, inspired by women pushing through the tough times of unplanned pregnancies, inspires us!
That’s why we are proud she’s a Biking for Babies missionary for life.
You can find similar impact stories throughout our blog.
