Alyse Lamparyk has always been an adventurer.  Whether exploring downtown Cleveland during her lunch break or venturing overseas to spend two months in Ghana, her inquisitive mind continually craves new sights and sounds.  She’ll travel near or far to experience fresh places, actively seeking all things nature and that which is untouched by human influence.  She aspires to visit 50 National Parks, saw fit to jump into an ice-covered lake while in Finland and will resume her travel blog upon embarking to Hawaii later this month.

That innate appetite for adventure is satiated through various means, not the least of which is riding a bicycle – a thrill Alyse, Blimp City Bike & Hike’s June 2013 Cyclist of the Month, has experienced nearly her entire life.

“My sister likes to bike ride and she likes nature, that’s about all you need to know,” said Sadie, Alyse’s youngest sibling.

Long before she first rode a red tricycle and longer still before the training wheels came off the pink Fischer-Price bike she received for her third birthday, Alyse could be found aboard the backseat of her father Andy’s bike for jaunts around their greater Cleveland  neighborhood.

“I had her on the back of my bike when she was not much older than one,” said Andy of his now-24-year-old daughter.  “At that point she was just big enough to hold her head up on her own.”

While Alyse may not recall her earliest biking memories, her sense of bike-related adventure kicked in at a young age, resulting in a trip to the hospital for stiches and a scar under her chin.  Still, she reflects positively on the role biking played within her childhood.

“There’s a picture somewhere where I’m crying because I fell off my first bike,” Alyse said.  “But the memory that really sticks out in my mind is just biking around the neighborhood as a family in the evenings.  Later on as we got older we rode a lot in the Rocky River Metroparks.  And we got a hitch put on the car so we could take our bikes on family vacations.”

Twenty years after receiving her first bicycle, Alyse received a bike for her birthday yet again – this time, a sleek Jamis model from Blimp City.  She has since renewed her love affair with biking, making several lengthy treks along the Towpath Trail as it navigates the winding river and lush woodlands within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  She also has participated in Blimp City Moon Rides.

No biking experience, though, illustrates Alyse’s sense of adventure prevailing better than her good-naturedly agreeing to play Mrs. Claus last December while riding a tandem bike with Santa Claus along Akron’s Merriman Road as part of Blimp City’s holiday publicity stunt.  The emotions she witnessed on the faces of passerby motorists ranged from shock to laughter to joy.

That adventurer spirit is destined to be revealed more and more in the years ahead in Alyse’s ambitious pursuits, whether through biking, traveling, experiencing nature or a combination of all three.

“Biking is an investment that I think will pay off for most people in multiple ways, both physically and mentally,” Alyse said.  “Riding a bike has such a limited impact on the environment, and it’s a great way to see the world around you.”

The Alyse Lamparyk File
Age: 24
Hometown: North Olmsted, Ohio
Family: Dad Andy, Mom Ingrid and Sisters Greta & Sadie
Pets: Dogs Fritz & Einstein and Cat Deutzia
Profession: Customer Content Specialist at PR Newswire Association
Alma Mater: Ohio University
Birthday: March 29
First Bike: 1992 Pink Fischer-Price Model
Hobbies: Biking, Hiking, Running, Reading, Travel, Animals, Nature