4th Annual Blessing of the Bikes

[Velocivixen]

The Patron Saint of Bicycling: Madonna del Ghisallo actually has a Facebook page! Who knew?!

[Tri Girl]

The Patron Saint of Bicycling: Madonna del Ghisallo actually has a Facebook page! Who knew?!

Interesting. She'd be so... proud???

Now I'm off to go "like" it!

[PamNY]

I've always wanted to go get my bike blessed but haven't made it yet -- the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is huge, and cyclists bring the bikes inside. There's also a hawk nest on the cathedral so it must be extra good luck.

Glad you got to go Velocivixen!

[Velocivixen]

Thanks. I was impressed that two Portland Bike Police were there-not to keep law & order, but to just be part of it like everyone else. I think, all in all, there were about 40 or 50 people and even small children on bikes.
As an aside we rode to N. Portland for an event called Cirque du Cycling and so I learned some new routes that I would definitely ride again on my own. I'm always more brave when I'm with DH, because he's familiar with a lot of these routes already. At the Cirque event there was a parade, with a drum corps, crazy bikes - tall bikes-one guy had bull horns on his really tall handlebars and a real horse saddle instead of a bike saddle. A whole group of guys on these old sting-ray types of bikes with banana seats and flippin' tall handlebars doing all sorts of synchronized riding and tricks, then cargo bike races where they had to carry actual building parts down and back-like actual kitchen sinks, etc. Pretty good stuff.