All my life I have been an avid cyclist. Shortly after my second birthday I started riding a bike with training wheels; but before the year ended I felt ready to remove them. I remember trying my hardest to get them off, but never had success. When I asked my dad for help he would say, “you need to wait a little longer.” (My parents later told me the truth was that they wanted my older sister to learn first.)
When I turned four, my Aunt gave me a bike that didn’t have training wheels! It was apparent that my sister wasn’t ready to give up her training wheels, so my parents consented to let me ride the new bike! It was way too big for me, but dad helped me get on, and gave me a shove. That was all I needed! I felt like a whole new world had opened up in front of me!
As I got older my love for biking only increased. When I was six my best friend, Donald Hunt, introduced me to the exciting world of bike jumping. We spent hours in the driveway jumping our bikes on rickety homemade ramps. A year later, Donald was killed in a tragic canoeing accident. In his memory, my brother and I have taken “bike jumping” to a level that I know Donald would have loved.
In the last few years, I have done some mountain bike racing, as well as a 444 mile road trip with a good friend, but right now, I am really excited about riding in memory of loved ones to raise money for Lifestyle Medicine! Thanks for your support!
Joshua Dysinger
I am 17 years old, and I can’t remember the first time I rode a bike. My bike and I have been constant companions in life! Together with my brother Jonathan, we have flown high in the sky, careened down slick rock in Moab, UT, raced through Tennessee woods and over country roads.
The Natchez Trace, and the sights along the way, are a favorite of mine, and I look forward to riding it in its entirety. This is the longest ride I will have done and I am enjoying pushing myself in the training process. The end of the journey is sweet!
The Natchez Trace, and the sights along the way, are a favorite of mine, and I look forward to riding it in its entirety. This is the longest ride I will have done and I am enjoying pushing myself in the training process. The end of the journey is sweet!
Andrew Ketts
My first memory of riding a two-wheeler bike was when my dad gave me a starter push and I pedaled down a hill on our driveway and crashed. Nothing like a great start to my biking career. I thank God that I caught on quickly after that as my family moved to an 800-acre farm where I had to pedal everywhere I wanted to go on a gravel road. As I grew up on the farm, my brothers and I played all sorts of games on our bikes… some less painful then others. As we became more “battled-hardened” and sophisticated, we jerry-rigged jumps with cinder blocks and plywood and rode our bikes as fast as we could off the jumps into our pond.
Some of my fondest childhood memories involve biking with my family in the evenings on a trail near our home. As my siblings and I aged, we have enjoyed biking as a family on vacations along the East Coast and some in the Mid-West. One of these trips involved a 21-mile bike ride in Cape Code, Massachusetts and another several miles in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.
More recently, I had the privilege of captaining a tandem bike for Blind Bikers Across America. The group rode 110-miles along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Tennessee and Alabama. I was humbled by the courage of the blind participants to get on a tandem bike with a sighted captain that they had never known before. This experience has inspired me to help with other medical causes involving biking as opportunities for these became available. As God would have it, a close friend of mine shared with me about Pedaling-4-Prevention. This 500 plus mile bike ride required me to acquire the necessary equipment (like a bike) and to begin a rigorous training schedule. I have had to become disciplined to ride many miles every day to prepare for biking for this cause. I am looking forward to the dawn of our first day… as we ride Pedaling-4-Prevention.
When Jonathan first asked me to make this ride with them my reply was "all I have is my mountain bike, I could never keep up with you boys. I would just slow you down and I don't want to be a hindrance".
I will be the old man of the group (I have children older than all of these pedalers) and will probably be bringing up the rear, but when I realized that my Sweet "P" was one of the people they were riding in memory of, I HAD to join.
God blessed me with a really nice used road bike with only 31 miles on it. The gentleman I bought it from was so moved that I was riding in memory of my girl, that he donated back a portion of the sale price. God is so good!
As a boy I was big into BMX and soaring through the air, and as an adult I got into mountain biking. Road biking is a new experience for me. I never thought I would enjoy it, but I'm finding it to be addicting. Pushing for more miles in less time and higher average and maximum speeds. Every ride pushing the envelope a little farther seeing what an old fat, out of shape man can do. If I keep this up...well, you know.
The closer this ride gets the more excited I become. I am looking forward to the challenge, but even more than that, the fellowship I will have with family and dear friends. Follow us...enjoy the ride with us. Cheer for the boys and PRAY for me!
Paul Dysinger
My earliest memories of learning to ride a bike was on the
slightly slopped driveway at my Grandpa and Nana’s house in Silverton Oregon. I
can remember my cousin pushing me from behind and then over and over again
trying to start the bike on my own. Overall it was a fairly smooth start with
not too many falls and is simply fun to look back on.
Since those early days I have thoroughly enjoyed my biking
experiences through the years (at least most of them ;). Riding with my Dad,
jumping with my cousins, or trailblazing impossibly tracks through the woods –
stand out as highlights.
Now we are about to advance on the longest bike ride I have
ever even thought of attempting – and yet I am filled with excitement once
again because I know that it is moments like these that will be treasured for a
lifetime.
Although I’ve always enjoyed biking, I never thought of road biking as an activity of interest or something I’d find a lot of pleasure in... until last year’s Pedaling4Prevention ride. As a part of the support team, I enjoyed cheering the boys on, but was inspired to join with them and take on the challenge as well. Training for this ride has sparked a deeper love for biking in me; I look froward to each ride with added pleasure and thrill with the challenge of pushing myself to reach higher goals.
This year I’m excited to take my place among the team, and hope that you also will be stirred to action.
______________________________
The pedalers listed here are those who have committed to the 400 mile "pedaling 4 prevention" bicycle ride from Natchez, MS and up the Natchez Trace National Parkway to Nashville, TN, on Tuesday, October 15 through Sunday, October 20, 2013. Each rider is a committed Christian who lives a healthy lifestyle that includes no use of tobacco or alcohol, regular exercise, and a healthy plant-based diet. Others who may wish to ride in and support this project can contact P. William Dysinger at (931) 583-2792 or at billdysinger@gmail.com.
Additional riders are particularly invited for this last day's ride of about 40 miles.
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