A mixture of high energy, a little friendly trash-talking and general camaraderie was in the air at the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church in La Plata, Maryland, on Sept. 18.

 Early that Saturday morning, more than 130 bicyclists checked their brakes, filled water bottles and geared up for the annual Ride for Vocations of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. Following a kickoff Mass, riders ranging from experienced long-distance cyclists to kids with their parents set out in groups on a route that snaked through 101 miles of countryside and small towns in Southern Maryland. It was all in the interest of praying for and raising awareness about vocations. Routes that ended after 70 miles and 50 miles were also options for the cyclists.

Julie Ferrero, a staff member at Sacred Heart who has been the volunteer organizer of the bike ride, said the 138 registrants was the most ever for the event. It began years ago with a group of priests and seminarians who rode as a team. Initially they joined a ride known as the Seagull Century, based out of Salisbury University, she said.  Another year, they joined the Southern Maryland Fall Century, also known as the Indian Head 100. But recently, the Ride for Vocations became its own event. 

“Last year we made it a Catholic churches ride,” Ferrero said, noting the rest, refreshment and prayer stops at half a dozen mostly historic churches in the southern counties of the archdiocese. At several churches, the Blessed Sacrament was on display and all were open for prayer. At nearly every stop, the local Knights of Columbus hosted snacks and other refreshments. As of Sept. 23, Ferrero said $50,000 was raised through registration fees, donations and sponsorships.

The riders this year included about 20 seminarians, eight priests, two deacons and five friars from the Dominican House of Studies, Ferrero said. Most of the participants had some connection to the archdiocese or nearby seminaries.

Justine Napier, a parishioner of St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, Maryland, had driven from her home in Montgomery County to Charles County that morning to participate in her first long distance ride. Her goal, the 50-mile course. Her motivation: “because it’s for the seminarians and praying for the Church.” She explained that the chance to combine her love of bicycling and her love of the church was too tempting to miss.

Napier said she didn’t know any of the other cyclists there that morning. And the course ahead was on the long side of her usual rides. 

“A more typical ride for me is about 20 miles,” she said. “But I’ve been training, riding 40-50 miles over a couple of days.”

Dino Tolentino was planning to ride the 50-mile route that day with his wife, Terry, and his son, Nick. Tolentino had actually ridden the 101-mile route on his own some days earlier. But he wanted to keep pace with his family for the official race. 

Tolentino said he was prodded to take up biking by Father Larry Swink, the former pastor of Sacred Heart and an avid bicyclist. Tolentino said Father Swink essentially prescribed bicycling for him as a way of speeding his recovery from prostate cancer a few years ago. He was hooked.

Nick Tolentino said the family had also participated in a run for vocations. “We do as much as possible,” said his dad. Gesturing to his bicycling jersey that features an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he added: “I think wearing this on the road is a great witness.”

Other jerseys worn by multiple riders referred to Knights of Columbus councils, a Franciscan health care organization and Ave Maria University. Some depicted St. Michael the Archangel or other saints.

A bit of competitiveness was on display from several seminarians. Their goal, said Mount Saint Mary’s theology student Louis McHale: “to beat the faculty. Father (Kevin) Regan, we’re gunning for you!” he said, with a big grin on his face. 

Father Regan, vice-rector of the Saint John Paul II Seminary, is an avid bicyclist with a reputation for leaving younger riders in his dust. Contacted after the race, McHale said Danny Morrison and Colin Snyder, two other seminarians for the archdiocese, beat Father Regan’s time. Among the group of seminarians “gunning” for Father Regan, the big winner was Tim Kraemer, who studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary for the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota. His time: 101 miles in 5 hours and 31 minutes. There is no official time-keeping for the event. Participants track their own times.

Another seminarian, Benedict Radich, in his second year of theology studies at Mount St. Mary’s, returned for his second 100-mile ride. After his first ride, the Bike Doctor, a Waldorf shop that supports the ride, donated a higher-end set of wheels for his future endeavors. Radich also rode a 100-miler that was a food pantry fundraiser. “I’ve probably ridden that bike 2,500 miles,” mostly in training, he said.

Radich’s brother Gabriel, a seminarian at St. John Paul II Seminary, also rode. “And my dad’s in it,” he said. “A lot of us have been training together.”

Ferrero said the ride is “truly an archdiocesan event,” with participants from one end of the archdiocese’s territory to the other. Many of the significant sponsors are local to the southern counties, such as the Bike Doctor, which provided bike repair at the first rest stop. Waldorf Auto provided two “sag wagons,” the vans that follow riders to provide emergency support, and loaned staff members as drivers for the day. 

Although the day was clear after storms earlier in the week, it was humid and rather hot by the afternoon. Some riders needed those vans to give them a lift back to the starting/ending point at Sacred Heart, Ferrero said. “All the riders were giving all they had to pray and suffer for the seminarians.”

Ferrero herself rode the 100-mile course over Labor Day weekend, knowing she’d be too busy tending to details to join the Sept. 18 event. She added that in addition to arranging the ride, mapping and marking the course, running registration and ordering T-shirts, praying is a big part of the preparations. “Starting in early July we send out daily prayers for vocations to the riders and some prayer warriors from Sacred Heart. Each day we include the picture of a seminarian and a vocation prayer. We have a day of prayer for every seminarian, ending the day before the ride.”

She said she was especially pleased to see riders taking the time to pray – “and not just focused on the ride and the weather. The most important part of the ride are the prayers. God will provide priests, and we need to pray for these young men and women to answer the call to be holy priests and religious, willing to serve the Church, with a mission to save souls. It is a difficult vocation, especially these days, and the prayers are critical.”