Early this morning, at 6 a.m., 22 young men and women set off on a pro-life adventure that will become one of the most memorable weeks of their lives. Team Chicago and Team New Orleans began their journey over 1,000 miles apart; in just 4 days, they will unite and finish before family, friends, and pregnancy resource centers for whom they resolved to make this unique journey six months ago.Their path will be flavored with fatigue, friendship, laughter, tired and sincere prayer, the generosity of old and new friends, and the familiar companionship of the backroads of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois.Written on the back of the 2016 Biking for Babies t-shirt is J.R.R. Tolkien’s quote, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” While our participants actually come in a range of heights : ) , they are still a relatively small number scattered within America’s Midwest between July 13th and 16th.Despite this, the cyclists and support crew have cultivated an uncompromised resolve over the past 6 months—through fundraising, training, sharing the reason they’re sacrificing one week of their summer—that will make the significance and impact of their experience extend far beyond this week’s roads they travel.Please help the impact of their experience extend beyond those backroads. We ask that you pray firmly and clearly for the riders’ and support crew members’ safety, fortitude, strength, and graciousness towards the wonderful people between Chicago and New Orleans who make this ride possible and memorable.We will continue to accept donations through the ride either online, through the mail, or at each of our evening events along the routes. Each donation you give, makes the resources of the pregnancy resource centers accessible to an even bigger community of America’s diverse families in need. We have currently fundraised almost $40,000. Help us reach over $50,000 by the end of the week. Please support your loved one’s efforts through a special gift or share the message of these young people’s efforts with a friend or three!
Tracking this year’s rides will be incredibly easy, thanks to an overwhelming amount of technology available to us. Each day, we’ll livestream our journey on our website using Glympse, share pictures on Instagram and Facebook, and post a recap of the previous day on YouTube. (If for any reason any of these things don’t work the way they should, please be patient! Sometimes the backroads along the Mississippi are not conducive to supporting our web-based needs.)
Sincerest thanks to all that each of you have done for Biking for Babies and we look forward to seeing you along the way!
