Celebrate the Feast Day of Madonna del Ghisallo with Critical Mass NOLA!
On Tuesday, October 13th, 2026, join us for the second annual Fête Ghisallo—a ride of remembrance, advocacy, and celebration in honor of the Patroness of Bicyclists and in memory of the bicyclists we’ve lost on the streets of New Orleans.
Together, we’ll honor their memory while pushing for a safer future with Plan Vieux Carré, a vision to limit motor vehicle access in the French Quarter, and a separated bike lane on St. Claude Avenue. This is more than a ride—it’s a movement.
What to Expect
🌹 Community Bike Ride & Madonna Procession
🙏 Blessing of the Bicycles (officiated during the ride)
🎉 After Party
At the helm of our procession, a grotto made of ghost bikes carrying a statue of Madonna del Ghisallo will glide with us through the streets on a bicycle trailer—a sacred tribute to fallen riders. Bring your spirit, your music, and your most festive wheels. Light up your bike with color and joy (and don’t forget: a white front light and red rear light are required by law).
We will gather at 6:00 PM on the Barracks Street side of the French Market. At 6:30 PM, we ride—winding through the French Quarter and beyond on a 1.5-hour journey to shine light on the urgency of safer, smarter cycling infrastructure in the heart of our city.
How to Get Involved
Register to Ride → Only $5 (every dollar supports bike advocacy and growing our movement!)
Seek Sponsors → Ask friends & family to donate in your name on Venmo. Be sure they write your name in the note!
Win the Grand Prize → The rider with the most sponsors will receive a bundle of cycling treasures: so far we’ve got a bike lock, a classic ding-dong bell, and glowing wheel lights—with more prizes being added along the way!
📅 Event Details
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Start: 6:00 PM at the French Market (Barracks Street side)
Ride: 6:30 PM, ~1.5 hours
Highlights: Madonna Procession, Blessing of the Bicycles, After Party
Let us ride. Let us remember. Let us reclaim the streets.
*Critical Mass NOLA is a volunteer-led, informal community ride. All participants ride at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.
Who is Madonna del Ghisallo?
In the rolling embrace of Lombardy, where Lake Como’s waters mirror the heavens, there rises a hill steeped in legend—Madonna del Ghisallo. Its name recalls a tale of peril and grace.
Long ago, Count Ghisallo, a traveler of uncertain fate, found himself beset by bandits on this very hill. With desperation as his guide, he fled toward a modest shrine, where the image of the Virgin Mary stood in quiet vigil. There, beneath her watchful gaze, salvation met him like a morning sun breaking through storm clouds. The bandits fled at the blazing glory of her apparition. Word of this miracle spread, and La Madonna del Ghisallo became the guardian of those who journey—first on foot, then on wheels.
Time, ever the great storyteller, wove new chapters into the hill’s legacy. The relentless ascent became a battleground for the strong-willed, a crucible for cyclists carving their names into history. The Giro di Lombardia claimed it, the Giro d’Italia revered it, and the weary yet triumphant cyclist found solace atop its peak.
It was Father Ermelindo Vigano, a man who saw holiness in the rhythm of pedaling feet, who declared that this Madonna should watch over cyclists as she did over Count Ghisallo. And in 1949, Pope Pius XII made it so. From that moment on, the small chapel at the summit became more than a place of worship—it became a sanctuary of bicyclist.
Inside, relics of the road rest in silent testimony: bicycles once ridden to glory, jerseys still heavy with the sweat of champions, and, most hauntingly, the twisted frame of Fabio Casartelli’s bike—the solemn reminder that not all who ride return. An eternal flame flickers in memory of those who have fallen, its glow mingling with the prayers of those who still push forward.
In the year 2000, a torch was lit in this sacred place and carried all the way to the Vatican, a journey of faith and motion bound together. A decade later, the Museo del Ciclismo opened nearby, a testament to the spirit of those who have climbed, conquered, and, sometimes, been claimed by the road.
At 2,473 feet above sea level, where the Colle del Ghisallo unites myth and motion, past and present ascend as one. There, beneath her watchful gaze, she extends her protective grace to bicyclists across the world.