After being diagnosed with an uncommon form of arthritis, Jesse Lee could have easily sat back and given up.
But after being given two options by his doctor, Lee has turned doctor’s orders into a passion.
“I started cycling four years ago after being diagnosed with an auto immune disease, basically an uncommon form of arthritis,” Lee said. “It affects my spine, knees and soft tissue. After a couple of knee surgeries, I was going to do the Azalea Trail Run and my doctor said I had two choices and that was to either swim or ride a bike. I tried swimming for about a week and I hated it.
“You were either looking up at the ceiling or looking down into the water and the bottom of the pool. It was the most boring thing. So I then bought a bike.”
Since buying his bike, Lee rides at least four times a week and is trying to start up a local group in the Brewton-area with other riders.
“We are trying to start a cycling group here in town and we are calling ourselves the Murder Creek Crankers,” he said. “We will go for a year before we can apply for club status. We get together about once a month and try to ride about 30 or 40 miles. I try to ride at least four days a week and when I do my daily ride, I do about 15 miles on my lunch break. Right now I am riding indoors because it is too hot.”
Lee has done many events since he has started riding, with most of them being charity events and distance rides. He most recently did the Ride Yellow Race.
“It is not really races, but it is an American Cancer Society cycling charity event,” he said. “It is in Bay Minette. There are different links to the ride. One is a six-mile fun ride and another is 100 kilometers, which is about 62.3 miles.
“The money raised goes to the American Cancer Society and it is a really good event. Last year we had around 700 riders. It is the largest charity event in this area.”
Other events Lee has participated in includes the Fenner’s event in Milton, Fla., and the Peddling for a Cure event in Monroeville.
“The Monroeville event is an American Cancer Society event that we have rode to the Battleship in Mobile,” Lee said. “One time we rode to the Ronald McDonald House. Now it is just 100 miles on a circle track.
“The main thing about cycling is people are always wanting to get children to get outside and to get out and play. Cycling is a great activity to do. It is easy on your joints. There are some guys that ride that are in their 60s and 70s.”
To join the local cycling group, those interested can contact Lee at: jesse13579@hotmail.com.
Lee, 34, is the network technician with the Brewton City Schools system.
He is married to Amanda Lee and the couple has two children, Addison and Amelia Lee.