Bike riders hit the 'Oblate Trail'

March 5, 2009 - 5:56 PM
The Monitor

SAN JUAN — The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville hosts its Fifth Annual Oblate Trail ride Saturday.

The ride, which features routes of 12, 25, 50, 62.5 and 100 miles, follows the path the Oblates of Mary Immaculate traveled by horse more than 100 years ago to celebrate Mass.

More than 200 cyclists are expected to participate in the ride, which carries a $30 registration fee.

Riders can depart at 7 a.m. from the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, 1218 E. Jefferson St., Brownsville, or at 8 a.m. from the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle-National Shrine, 400 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd., San Juan.

Participants may register ahead of time by calling diocese spokeswoman Brenda Nettles Riojas at (956) 781-5323. Registration on the morning of the ride begins an hour before the designated departure time.

Funds raised from this event will go toward the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which fights poverty in the Rio Grande Valley.

For more information visit www.cdob.org/oblateride.