In 'Biking for Babies,' cyclists put 36,000 miles on the road for the Gospel of Life

(OSV News) -- The more Amanda Nolan thought about it, the more objections flew into her mind.

I'm not equipped for this, she told herself. It's so outside my comfort zone. It would disrupt my whole life. It would take such a physical toll on my body.

Nolan was contemplating whether or not she should embark on a six-day, 600-mile bike ride to fundraise for pregnant women in need.

But she quickly realized that in a small way, these thoughts were similar to the ones a woman in a crisis pregnancy might experience. In solidarity with them, she decided to truly live out her pro-life beliefs by joining Biking for Babies.

"I want to fight against my own and our culture's complacency and show the world in this dramatic way that we're here" for parents in need, she told OSV News.

Since Biking for Babies' founding in 2009, 255 young adult missionary bikers have pedaled over 36,000 miles all over the country, raising a total of $2.03 million for 158 pregnancy resource centers in the U.S., according to the organization's 2024 annual report.

Bikers receive spiritual and physical coaching before embarking on their cross-country journey along one of several different routes. On the journey, they're accompanied by other riders and a support crew. They sleep in churches, in host families' homes or even in pregnancy resource centers. In the end, each rider's partner pregnancy center receives more than $4,000 on average.

The goal of Biking for Babies is to strengthen the spiritual lives of the riders and crew members, to spread the pro-life message and to raise awareness of the tangible aid pregnancy resources centers provide, Nikki Biese, the group's executive director, told OSV News.

"Our riders die to self and sacrifice their bodies for the larger cultural renewal that we seek for these women and their children," she said.

The organization hopes to recruit more riders next year, which will allow them to support more centers, explained Biese.

Nolan, a 30-something from the Boston area, wasn't even a biker when her mom sent her information about the charitable cycling group. Training for the ride and biking from Portland, Maine, to Philadelphia was very challenging for the novice.

"But that was the beauty of it," Nolan told OSV News. "So much of the mission is entering into sacrifice intentionally, so that you can offer it for women in unplanned pregnancies."

Nolan said she was gratified to learn how many people were willing to support her ride financially, especially knowing how underappreciated and misunderstood pregnancy centers are in New England.

"People that I wouldn't have (expected to) embrace a pro-life mission supported my ride when once they (learned) that what we're really trying to do is help women have actual choices," she said.

Nolan was partnered with the Mother of Life Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and she was the first missionary partner who was able to visit the center, said Richard Lafond, Mother of Life Center's communications and development facilitator. And then she kept coming. She attended the center's cookout and annual gala. She and her sister even stepped in to help run the center's Spring Rose Sale fundraiser when Lafond was dealing with the death of his mother-in-law.

"Amanda has made a huge difference for us and she's been an inspiration to our supporters," he told OSV News. "The extent to which she has given is, I think, even beyond what she's aware of."

Financially, Mother of Life uses the funds it receives from Biking for Babies toward its operational costs and to buy the more expensive baby items such as strollers and car seats, in addition to onesies, diapers and bottles.

"The demand is high and we want to serve as many as we can," said Lafond.

But in addition to offering needed funds, Biking for Babies provides a tremendous Christian witness, Lafond said. He recalled how, on one night of the journey, the center was able to host a few riders.

"When the cyclists visited us, they had just cycled 93 miles and then they were up at 5 a.m. the next day to go on another 80 some odd miles. How is this possible without the grace of God working within them?" he said. "(I) see these young adults coming up the road in these yellow (Biking for Babies) jerseys and my heart just soars."