This was one of the weirdest things I have ever done. My bike has been blessed by a Catholic priest.

I parked in front of the church and found the priest. He had two cars and a lorry to bless before my bike. Truly funded by the profit motive he will bless anything for ten Bolivianos. About $1.20.

I watched as he swished holy water both inside and outside the vehicles. He was using a plastic bucket and plastic flowers for the swishing. He mumbled appropriate incantations as he went about his cleansing.

In preparation for the event it is customary to drape one's possession in flowers and garlands which luckily are available from the stalls in front of the church.

The priest gave me about two minutes or prayers for my ten Bolivianos which seemed very good value. He then sprayed holy water over my head and set about my bike. He was very thorough all the important bits received attention.

I slipped him the funds and thanked him.

The next part of the procedure is to let off fireworks and spray champagne everywhere Formula 1 style.

I bought a small packet of thunderflashes but they seemed rather small. So I lit them all at once. That was much better. Duly fortified, I shook the champagne vigorously to build up some pressure.

I handed my camera to a German tourist to record the momentous event.

In fact there was a whole coachload watching my ceremony.

I flipped out the plastic cork and sprayed the whole bottle over my bike.

Unfortunately, the tourist failed to take a single shot.

I was wondering If I get my bike blessed again will I get double protection?

What was so weird was that following the blessing I now feel truly bonded to my bike, even though I've been using it almost every day for the last eleven months.

As an aetheist it is even stranger.

What was even weirder is that I felt I had to give him a name. I have always thought that people who gave their bikes, cars etc names were a little odd but now..

I need to give him a name.

Fred.