My Protector... Madonna del Ghisello

I am Catholic. This is not as popular in the bible belt as it is throughout the rest of the US and the world. Many rumors are spread throughout the southeast about what Catholics believe and don't believe, and I am certainly not interested in discussing these in this forum. One practice of devout Catholics is the wearing of medals. The Church's stance on this is that we are honoring a saint or holy figure by wearing their picture... almost a walking shrine in honor of them. That it is similar to keeping your grandmother's locket in your pocket... or a loved ones picture close to your bed... it is a item for remembrance and honor for the person depicted in the image.

Now... legend says something more. For many years, people have claimed protection from demons, protection from wrongdoing, and protection from injury and sickness by wearing a certain saint's medal. Sometimes they go even further than that... You may have heard that by burying a statue of St. Joseph (the saint of lost hope), your house will sell. I can tell you, by the way, that this has worked for nearly everyone in my extended family... houses that were on the market for 3 months and longer sell within a week of burying the statue... it really is freaky.

As a cyclist and a Catholic, I am obviously a madman... cyclists are almost always superstitious as are Catholics as are Italians (I am only 1/4 but most of my family tradition comes from that side), so why not work that into a religious belief and let it run. That was what I did nearly a year ago... I purchased a religious medal of the Madonna Del Ghisallo (the patron saint of cyclists).

The legend and back story are as follows...

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.

Madonna del Ghisallo became a patroness of local travellers. In later times Madonna del Ghisallo became part of the Giro di Lombardia. In 1949 the local priest Father Ermelindo Vigano proposed to declare Madonna del Ghisallo the patroness of cyclists. This was admitted 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 he died in a crash in the Tour de France.

I would be shocked if any serious cyclist had not heard of the Madonna del Ghisallo shrine in Italy (pictured). Here is my story and why it applies... Since I purchased the medal, I have worn it on nearly every ride. I have ridden an average of 6 days a week for the past year so we are talking about around 300 rides. I figure that I have forgotten to wear the necklace with the medal on maybe 15 rides and it is probably closer to 10.

I know this is dragging out, but walk with me a little longer.

The day I wrecked, we were out with the team plus a few on an 80 miler or so. I wrecked at around mile 65 or so I think. When we were 20 miles in, we were rotating in an echelon when three large, junk yard dogs ran right in front of us. Now, we all know that more than one dog in a group of cyclists is trouble... the three dogs cut our group to pieces... brakes locking everywhere but there was no time to stop... we all slid through the dog pack... cyclists dodging both sides of all three dogs... and we all came out the other side unscathed. It was amazing... I threaded the needle between two running and dodging dogs and I had 5 inches to spare on either side and avoided the guy in front of me who had braked hard. I reached inside of my jersey to see if the Madonna had saved me and realized that I was not wearing it. I actually thought to myself, "well I guess I don't need it after all."

You know the rest of the story... fractured femur later in the ride...

Out of 300 or so rides in the last year, I have not worn the medal 10-15 times. I have wrecked twice during this time frame and was not wearing the medal either of those times...

Needless to say, it has not left my chest since...