July 17, 2009

CHICAGO – Lucy Thomas is a bike peddler.

The 64-year-old Iowan collects and repairs old bicycles and helmets. Then she donates them to refugee families being resettled in the state.

The bikes provide a way for them to get around other than by bus or their own two feet. Adults use them to get to work, school and supermarkets.

For many children it's the first bike they've owned.

"It's more than a hobby. It's a service I provide," said Thomas, a member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames.

The bikes are distributed by Lutheran Services of Iowa. Michelle Raymer, who works at the Des Moines-based social service agency, called the bikes a godsend.

"The families are so grateful," said Raymer, who calls Thomas' efforts a ministry.

"She's definitely a compassionate woman who cares about our families," Raymer said."

In four years the agency resettled nearly 1,800 families from Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Vietnam and other countries.

No one provides more bicycles than Thomas, the agency said.

"She's high energy – a person with great social concerns," said the Rev. Ron Mohr, interim pastor of Lord of Life, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

A few months ago Thomas drove a load of refurbished bikes for hurricane survivors to Galveston, Texas. She recently hauled bikes to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for survivors of last year's floods.

"Rather than writing a check to charity, it's something hands-on that I can do," Thomas said. She donates a helmet with every bike.

Thomas, who grew up in Minnesota, was nine years old before she learned to ride a bike. She's never stopped.

"I started biking before they made padded bike shorts," she said and laughed.

She's pedaled in Iowa's Ragbrai, the annual cycling trek across the state that draws more than 10,000 bikers. She's also cycled in the 100 mile Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride.

"I'm kind of past my prime as far as being competitive," she said.

Thomas succeeded in getting more bike trails around Ames during her terms as president of Friends of Central Iowa Biking. She guides riders around those trails today.

She's rooting for Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France. She's also cheering the Tour de Revs – three pastors cycling across the United States to raise money for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

Thomas keeps a lower profile than those bikers. Most recipients of her bikes never learn that she's the donor.

"I don't care if they know my name or not," she said. "It's just gratifying to be doing something to help people, even in a small way."

More on the Pretty Good Lutherans blog at http://blogs.ELCA.org/prettygoodlutherans/, on the Web.

Information about the ELCA World Hunger Appeal is at http://tinyurl.com/nh6l6x, on the Web.

Information about the Tour de Revs is at http://www.tourderevs.org/tdr/Welcome.html, on the Web.

ELCA News Service