ALTO PASS, Ill. (WSIL) -- Whether it's your first time or your 30th, riders coming to Blessing of the Bikes often get chills and butterflies when they arrive.
Milas Morse, of Grand Tower, still gets those feelings, despite having been to all Blessing of the Bikes gatherings since the tradition began 30 years ago.
"I met people from South America, Berlin," Morse said. "You meet so many different people and you get so many different views about this event."
Morse noticed a growing crowd of bikers about 10 years ago. Last year, despite organizers having to implement social distancing measures due to the pandemic, more than 3,500 bikers came out.
"It's all the steel man. All the steel," Morse laughed.
But for people like Richard Havel, of Algonquin, bikes are a bridge that helps repair or reconsider one's relationship to God.
"Knowledge about Jesus Christ is not going to get you into heaven," Havel said. "It's not about religion. It's about relationship. Know the difference."
People like Roger Rice, of Hillsboro, enjoys coming out each year to bless, and ride, his bike.
"I've got about 160 miles from my home right now," Rice said. "I'll spend a couple hours down here riding and head home."
Rice says the blessings are to protect the riders from harm on the road and hopes drivers will be more cautious when they share a lane with a motorcycle.
Both Thomas Phlasterer, of Sparta, and Bradley Snodgrass, of Coulterville, agree that it raises awareness on bike safety. But it also gives people a chance, they say, to enjoy the beauty of Bald Knob.
"Stay blessed and ride safe," Phlasterer said.
"Remember, it's God's country," Snodgrass said.