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Dave Gulden has an incurable condition that has restricted his ability to breathe.
But he is not letting it restrict his ability to live life.
Gulden has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a lung abnormality where the airways become narrowed and breathing difficult.
However, the North York resident long ago decided to attack his problem and not passively suffer from it.
He's biked thousands of miles along the Heritage Rail Trail County Park to build up his lungs, refusing to give in to the debilitation that his condition often brings.
In the past five years, Gulden has biked almost 3,600 miles along the trail, a distance that would nearly take him from York to Madrid, Spain.
He thinks he might hit 1,500 miles this year alone.
Gulden doesn't baby himself. Recently, he targeted both his lung problems and advancing age when he rode his age - all 56 years of it - in miles, by pedaling down the trail well into Maryland.
Gulden already had a hobby.
He is an accomplished freelance writer who has written numerous articles and also four books on subjects as diverse as the forgotten cigar kings of York County and a history of the county park system.
But events would force him to take up another pastime. His problems began about six or seven years ago.
"I began noticing a lot of coughing, wheezing and congestion, and I couldn't take a deep breath" he said.
The doctors confirmed the COPD.
There is no cure, and the condition
Gulden liked canoeing, but wasn't particularly active other than that.
However, this would change.
Part of the recommended treatment for COPD is to stop smoking.
Gulden did that.
And, after one relapse, he hasn't had a cigarette since January.
Another part is exercise, and he pursued that with a vengeance. Conveniently, the venue for that exercise lay not far from his front door; Gulden lives just more than a mile from the trail.
One day, he took out $25 and bought a well-used bicycle - "a piece of junk" - as he called it.
He immediately went on a seven-mile ride along the trail.
"I made it, and I was tickled pink. I had a good feeling because I'd found something I liked to do," he said.
He quickly learned that he had a hobby that was therapeutic to the lungs and also useful in keeping his cholesterol and weight down.
But in addition to helping his body, he feels that the riding is therapeutic to the brain.
"Riding the trail is both a mood-elevator and a spirit-booster. It puts me in a good frame of mind. I think anybody with stress can benefit from it as I did," he said.
He enjoys the sights along the trail, and he also invented a game to make his rides easier and more interesting.
He calls it "catching the rabbit."
"To see what I can do, I try to play catch-up with people. If they pass me, I try to pass them," he said.
Interestingly, Gulden keeps a sort of journal on his rides.
He posts details of his trips as well as his mileage on the York Daily Record's Exchange message board.
His breathing is becoming more labored now, but he hasn't slowed down despite having his first fall not long ago.
In fact, it's quite the opposite .
"I pump harder than ever," he said.
He acknowledges that he'll soon have to go back to the doctor about his increasing difficulties.
But no matter what the doctor says, one gathers that Dave Gulden as no intention of giving up his favorite therapy.
Follow along
READ DAVE GULDEN'S RAIL TRAIL JOURNAL online at the Daily Record/Sunday News' Exchange message boards. Just visit exchange.ydr.com and click on "The Great Outdoors," then "Rail Trailing Journal 08."
