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Blessing founder and organizerGlen Goldstein characterizes thewelcome he received when hefirst approached the pastor withthe idea for a bike blessing: “Youhave a home here.” And over theyears, the service has grown toinclude as many as 500 cyclistsand is one of the few events forwhich the cathedral’s giant bronzedoors have opened. Glen’s brainchildactually came from a newspaperarticle his mom had mailedhim about motorcyclists holding asimilar event. He summarizes theblessings conception as, “Coolthings happen if you ask,” and tellshow the bishop, who would jogthe cathedral on rainy days, suggestedthey bring the bikes rightup the front stairs and inside themain cathedral for the anointment.Finally, some respect!Tourists of every flag wanderand mingle during the ceremonyand a choir was rehearsing in thechapel, but for the moment, themighty Cathedral is given overto urban biking and the risksand rewards that come with it.Bike bells ring again and serveas hosanna for this highly nondenominational,non-traditionalservice. Actually, if you’re patient,you can ride around no-handedinside the largest church buildingin the U.S.Saturday April 30th was notparticularly warm, but it was alsothe day before the Five Boro BikeTour and the unofficial beginningof Bike Month, so a good crowdwas expected. Around 9 am, the“tribes” began to gather on thecathedral steps. Baskets of croissantsand danishes were passedaround. Parents with kids in theirchildseats, tattooed fixies, andlots of lycra filled the steps by9:30, about 300 helmeted pilgrims38 URBANVELO.ORG