By: Wally Wersching
I always check The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine Cruisin’ Calendar to see what’s happening every weekend. There were a lot of events on April 14th. There were different places I wanted to go, so I had to choose. My plan was to go to the Driven By Grace Bike Blessing in Lincolnton, NC. It was scheduled to start at 10 AM.
It was a beautiful spring morning, so I rode “Miss Vickie” from Shelby to the Lincolnton Church Of God parking area on the right. The Biker ministry “Driven By Grace” was the sponsor for their 11th Annual “Blessing Of The Bikes”. I really enjoy spending time with the “Driven By Grace” people. They are all so friendly.
After a cordial greeting, I learned that Candy and Danny might be there later in the day. They were the leaders of the ministry, but now Danny has moved up to Assistant Pastor, and doesn’t have the time to spend leading the ministry right now. I missed Candy’s beautiful singing.
I brought a large stack of The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazines and placed them on the table where everything is free. Then, I walked around talking with old friends. We shared stories about many interesting rides we’ve had. I had a hot dog, while we talked. “Driven By Grace” always has great tasting food at their events.
“Miss Vickie” was the only Victory motorcycle there until a group of Gargoyles from Lincolnton rode in. One man was riding a Victory Cross Country. I found him later, and we talked. He seems to buy motorcycles before he tells his wife. This was his second Victory. He traded in an older one for this one. His wife wasn’t too upset this time - especially after she rode on it. It was so comfortable!
Later, I bumped into “Grumpy” from the CCIB. We talked for quite a while until it was time to start the Blessing Of The Bikes. He wanted to get his blessing quickly because he had a lot of work to do at home. He said that he had a “Honey Do” list a mile long.
I remember when I lived in Chicago, we would all go for a bike blessing, and the priest would come out onto a stage or a place where he could see all the bikes, and then bless all the bikes and riders at once. The “Driven By Grace” ministry does it differently. Many of their members gather around each motorcycle with its rider, and pray for him, and his ride. We were instructed to stand by our bikes and wait for the group to come for the blessing. That’s when I saw Danny ride in. He was going to be part of the blessing, too.
When it was my turn, I was moved by their prayers. I could feel the presence of God as they all prayed for “Miss Vickie” and me to be safe during the upcoming year. I was glad that we were blessed again for another year. It seems like there are many bike blessings in the spring. Bikers can use all the help we can get when riding our bikes. It always helps to have God on our side.
When they moved on to other bikes, I left as quietly as I could. I arrived home and talked Cindy into going out for lunch.