Gotta Give it to the Catholics: St. of Cycling, Madonna of Ghisallo

With all of the bad news that seems to go on around here (people getting doored, road rage, etc.) and having experienced many close calls on my ~40 mile commute, I figured there might be some sort of saint or good luck charm for cyclists. Enter the Catholics!! (of course...) I just did a quick Google search and found the story of Our Lady of Ghisallo or Madonna of Ghisallo.
Even though I'm not Catholic, I'm half tempted to pick up her medal and carry it with me when I'm biking. Figure it couldn't hurt, right?

Do any of you carry around good luck/protection/etc. charms?

Below the story of Madonna of Ghisallo from Wikipedia:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_del_Ghisallo)

Madonna del Ghisallo is a hill close to Lake Como in Italy. It is named after a legendary Marian apparition.

According to the legend, the Medieval count Ghisallo was being attacked by bandits when he saw an image of Virgin Mary at a shrine. He ran to it and was saved from the robbers. The apparition became known as the Madonna del Ghisallo, and she became a patroness of local travellers. In later times, Madonna del Ghisallo (the hill) was made part of the Giro di Lombardia bicycle race.

In 1949 a local priest, Father Ermelindo Vigano, proposed that Madonna del Ghisallo (the apparition) be declared the patroness of cyclists. This was confirmed by Pope Pius XII. Nowadays the shrine of Madonna del Ghisallo contains a small cycling museum with photos and artifacts from the sport. There also burns an eternal flame for cyclists who have died. One particularly notable artifact is the crumpled bicycle that Fabio Casartelli, a native of the region, rode on the day that he died in a crash in the Tour de France.

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Permalink Reply by cutifly on August 13, 2009 at 4:34am
I like to stop by under the bridge at Fullerton and light the candles, same with some of the Ghost bikes on the North Side. Thinking about David Carradine is always a big help in avoiding unneeded open doors and unchecked anger.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 13, 2009 at 4:47am
Permalink Reply by Jasonk on August 13, 2009 at 8:18am
I'm thinking that it's both bike nerd and nerd on a bike... Who cares though - Star Wars rocks!!
Is Obi-Wan really small enough to fit in your handlebars? ;)



Brian Kennedy said:
In reading posts about keeping a unique item inside your handlebars to help identify your bike if it gets stolen, I chose a unique item from my childhood to place inside my handlebars. Oh gosh! I guess I just let the cat out of the bag...pffff. Please. Let's just say, I don't need Catholicism because the force is with me when I ride. Yes, I've elevated bike nerd to a whole new level or maybe it's nerd on a bike.

Permalink Reply by Jasonk on August 13, 2009 at 9:51am
HAHAHAHA!! That's an awesome story. And who ever said that tangents are a bad thing? Well, let's not start that on here...
Yeah, my brother and I had TONS of Star Wars figures, including the Ewok Village with the net that went up/down with the little hand crank. We still have a whole bunch of them... When he first got the Gamorrean Guard my mom had to put it up on a nail in the hallway so it couldn't get him at night and so he could sleep... Ah, the memories...
Permalink Reply by 8vPete on August 13, 2009 at 11:58am
I don't really believe in good luck charms, religion or anything of the sort, but that's pretty cool.
Permalink Reply by Bob on August 13, 2009 at 3:32pm
..i actually have a madonna de ghissallo pendant around my neck, eventhough i am a recovering catholic.

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