As a pastor, Jonathan Simonson is accustomed to blessing people and their belongings, but he concedes that not everyone else is accustomed to seeing a leather-clad pastor bestowing blessings on fellow bikers.

Simonson, a pastor with the Christian Crusaders Motorcycle Ministry, was joined by roughly 100 fellow members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association at the triangle of East Sims Way and Jefferson Street in Port Townsend April 20, as they conducted their annual “blessing of the bikes.”

Simonson estimated they’d been coming to Port Townsend for the yearly tradition for at least 10 years, although he recalled they previously met up at Fort Worden.

Simonson even thanked Jim Gilliland for opening the doors of his nearby Northwest Water Wellness Center to the bikers in years past.

“It’s just a good way to start the year,” said Bill Miano, a member of the CMA’s Sequim branch, the Tri-Area Trinity Riders, while Simonson handed out poker chip-style ride tokens and hand-towels to all the ride participants, just outside the Port Townsend Garden Center.

Simonson hopes he and his fellow bikers might be able to “bridge the gap” between who they actually are and the way many people tend to see bikers.

“Because of how I look, I’ve had people come into my church and ask to speak to the pastor, and when I tell them I am the pastor, they’ll say, ‘No, I mean a real pastor,’” Simonson said with a laugh. “That’s okay, though. I just find someone who can meet them at their level.”

Although Simonson is a tall, stout fellow, his hands and voice are both gentle as he bestows blessings.

“We’re the same as everybody else,” Simonson said. “We may look hard on the outside, but we’re all the same. Just like you might meet good citizens or bad citizens, you might meet good bikers or bad bikers.”

Simonson and fellow Christian bikers like Jim Bishop of Port Angeles make it a goal to do good, whether by ministering to others like Simonson, or by providing for orphans like Bishop.

Although Bishop has worked with groups of Christian bikers to feed and house orphans in Brazil and Sweden, it was his work in Mexico that earned him the nickname “Preacher Guacamole,” after one of his peers noticed his fondness for the food.

“There’s a lot of hardcore bikers who have accepted Christ into their hearts and changed their lives,” Bishop said. “We even have ex-cons who help perform baptisms, funerals and weddings now.”

And while their ride attire might not be standard for church attendance, Bishop recalled an anecdote as he and his fellow bikers prepared to head out onto the road.

“A biker comes into church and the preacher asks him, ‘Where’s your suit and tie?’” Bishop said. “The biker said, ‘Why would I wear a $100 suit when I’m wearing $800 in leather?’”