Some folks ride bicycles in Chicago for exercise, while others do it to reduce their carbon footprint. Amanda Aamodt and Emily McCrary pedal for a higher purpose; biking, they say, is the most affordable and efficient way to spread their faith to others around the city.
Bingham, 69, a farmer by trade, temporarily moved to Chicago in July with his wife, Sherry, a piano teacher, from Honeyville, Utah, near the Idaho border, after they were “called” by their faith to mentor young missionaries. “We love rubbing shoulders with these folks,” he says. “It makes us feel young.”
Missionaries using bikes to make the rounds is a matter of pragmatism, Bingham says. “Sometimes Sherry and I follow them to appointments, and we have to park blocks away, but they can chain up right in front.” Other benefits include avoiding traffic, and not having to pay for gas, parking, or tickets, which is crucial for young people on a fixed budget.
Bike use among sisters is still relatively uncommon, possibly due to supervisors being more protective of females. Wilson of West Town Bikes—who grew up in a Mormon family in Lincoln, Nebraska, but didn’t go on mission and doesn’t currently practice the religion—told me that in many districts women aren’t allowed to use bikes for missionary work, and that supervisors cite safety as the main concern.
Since it’s less common for sisters to ride bikes, the ones who do tend to use the hand-me-downs, McCrary says. But the chain kept falling off the bicycle she was previously using, and its handlebars were covered with duct tape. “My dad’s a big cyclist back home in California, so he thought it would be a good idea to get a safer bike.” She now rides a silver Trek hybrid with a step-through frame.
