Thousands of bikers gather for ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ in Greene County

GREENE COUNTY — Thousands of motorcyclists were given a blessing Sunday ahead of the summer riding season.

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They gathered Sunday at Kil-Kare Raceway in Greene County for the annual Blessing of the Bikes event.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson was at the event on Sunday as thousands of bikes were blessed as they pulled out of Kil-Kare Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

“We got a blessing for a safe ride in the future,” said Dick Stewart.

He started this longstanding tradition 24 years ago where deacons and priests blessed bikers at the start of the riding season.

“All the money raised goes to Greenebucs,” he said.

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Gussie Jones of Greenebucs told Robertson that all the money raised goes back into the community.

“We provide therapeutic tricycles for children and veterans and first responders who are disabled,” she said.

Robertson checked to see how prevalent motorcycle crashes are in Ohio.

She said within the last five months, there have been more than 700 motorcycle crashes.

31 of those crashes were deadly and almost 200 of them seriously hurt someone.

“It’s scary,” said Stewart.

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It is just one of the reasons why the event draws in several vendors and bikers from the area.

Chrisanne Gordon, the founder of Resurrecting Lives Foundation, launched a new campaign at Sunday’s event.

“What we’re doing is bringing a 6000-drywall screw 3D industrial strength flag to various different activities and ceremonies like this so that our veterans or family members of veterans may be able to sign this flag of honor showing that we are all standing together under the flag,” she said.

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