It all started as a fundraising stunt to purchase bicycles for pastors in foreign countries.

The Rev. Bill Bailey brought a tandem bike to Lisbon Falls Church of the Nazarene and he and Dorothea “Dottie” Brown, then 89, rode the bike into the sanctuary.

“It had been about 60 years since I had been on a tandem bike,” said Brown, who turned 99 in March. “We shocked a lot of people because we rode right into the church on it.”

The two can barely remember how much money was raised — they think about $400 or $500 — but that short journey started them off onto an annual tradition.

This year will the tenth year they’ll pedal over 16 miles on the day of the Moxie Festival Parade on Saturday in Lisbon.

“It’s special to be able to ride with her,” said Bailey, who would stop riding in the parade if Brown decided to give it up. “She’s on the back, giggling like a school girl while we’re out there.”

“I don’t ride a bike ever, except in the parade,” Brown said, laughing. “I have a lovely bike, but I don’t dare ride it on the road. It’s crazy drivers out there!”

“I want people to know she pedals the whole entire time,” Bailey said. “People accuse me of doing all the work, but I don’t.”

The duo received the Best Overall award two years ago, to their delight. They were told they had “Moxie.”

“It’s a testimony for us,” Bailey said. “We have a scripture, Philippians 4:13, that we pin to her back. It says, ‘We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ That’s been our motto since we started riding together.”

After the parade, Brown will do what she has done every year but one — go home and soak in a tub of warm water with a little bit of Epsom salts.

“It takes the ache out,” Brown said, laughing.

When asked if she is going to continue riding in the parade after she turns 100 next year, Brown’s face lit up and she became animated.

“Oh I don’t know,” Brown said. “I really debated about doing it this year, and then I said, ‘No sir!’ I was going to do it. I might have one more year left in me.”

“It’s a privilege to ride with Dottie,” Bailey said. “There are a lot of people who look forward to seeing her every year. I think it’s an inspiration to a lot of people.”