Thursday, November 30, 2006

Biking for Peace



For the last 5 five years I have been organizing a Bike for Peace annually during the Mindanao Week of Peace. This morning over two hundred cyclists turned for the Bike for Peace. I was worried that only around 70 cyclists would turn up since the president has moved the holiday tomorrow and today is a working day. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bigger number. Archbishop Valles and 12 cycling priests participated in the 34 km bike ride within the city. I also invited Joey Ayala who came all the way from Manila to give a mini-concert before the bike ride. Unfortunately, he could not bike with us since he had to leave immediately for Manila before lunch.

The Bike for Peace was preceded by a Walk for Peace which was participated by students, NGOs, and office workers. By 8:00 am, when the walkers reached Rizal Park, the opening ceremony of the Mindanao Week of Peace started. Archbishop Capalla and other Muslim religious leaders offered prayers. Then Joey Ayala gave a 20-minute concert. We were able to depart at 9:00 am. It took us more than two hours to ride through the busy streets of Davao and delived the message of peace.

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