Miao Kun is cycling

Miao Kun cycled through Qianjiang. Photo provided by the interviewee

It took 17 days, covering 1,625 kilometers and crossing 11 cities. Recently, Miao Kun, a junior student majoring in Visual Communication at Wuhan Textile University Birmingham College, accomplished something he had been preparing for a long time - cycling back to Lanzhou for the summer vacation.

To commemorate the last summer vacation of his student days, Miao Kun began to prepare for this cycling trip a year ago. From departure to return home, he cycled for a total of 17 days. He said, “When I rode out of the Qinling Mountains, thinking of a little me in the vast mountains, I immediately had a feeling of 'the light boat has passed ten thousand mountains'.”

Crossing 11 cities in three provinces in 17 days

Miao Kun, 21 years old, is from Lanzhou, Gansu Province. He is always passionate about sports. In his sophomore year, he came up with an idea: to cycle back to Lanzhou from Wuhan during the summer vacation.

“Since I was a child, I have loved cycling. Riding a long distance has always been something I want to do.” Miao Kun said that he would be a senior next semester and this summer vacation might be the last one in his student life, so he decided to ride home for the summer vacation.

Before a long ride, it is necessary to make adequate preparations. In addition to purchasing the necessary equipment such as bicycles, goggles and gloves in advance, Miao Kun also bought travel bags and camping gear online. He also learned simple bicycle repair methods like changing tires from other classmates in the school's cycling club.

Long-distance cycling demands a high level of physical fitness. Therefore, throughout his junior year, whenever he had no classes in the morning, Miao Kun would go to the gym to exercise. In addition to preparing physical fitness and equipment, whenever he had free time in his spare time, he would look for opportunities to do part-time jobs and saved over 2,000 yuan as the funds for this cycling trip. “In fact, the living expenses my parents give me usually are enough to support me. But this trip has always been my obsession, so I want to use the money I earn to complete this journey.” Miao Kun said that in addition, he had done a lot of research online in advance and made plans for his journey based on the experiences of fellow cyclists.

At 6 a.m. on June 14th, Miao Kun officially began his cycling trip home.

Starting from Wuhan, he passed through Xiaogan, Suizhou, Xiangyang, Shiyan, Shangluo, Xi 'an, Baoji, Tianshui, Dingxi and Lanzhou, crossing Hubei, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. After 17 days, he finally returned home in Lanzhou.

When you are physically exhausted, just keep your head down while riding

Miao Kun said that before this, he had cycled as far as he could from Wuhan to Jingzhou with his classmates. This time when he cycled home, he originally expected it to take 21 days. But after setting off, he found that this route was not as difficult as he had imagined.

On the first day of his departure, he rode to Xiaogan. In his plan, he would ride a bike during the day and set up camp by the roadside at night. “Before setting off, I specially bought a tent, but I gave up the plan on the first night.” Miao Kun said that because of the high temperature in summer and the abundance of mosquitoes in the wild, he hardly slept all night that night. Considering his physical strength and budget, he mostly rested in guesthouses or youth hostels during the rest of the trip.

He gets up at 6 a.m. every day and sets off until 6 p.m. when he checks in. When he rode to Xiangyang and Xi 'an, he also stopped to play for a few days. Miao Kun told the Jiemu News reporter that most of the roads within Hubei Province are relatively easy to ride. It was not until he entered the mountainous area of Shiyan that he truly felt the hardship of cycling.

He gets up at 6 a.m. every day and sets off until 6 p.m. when he checks in. When he rode to Xiangyang and Xi 'an, he also stopped to play for a few days. Miao Kun told the Jiemu News reporter that most of the roads within Hubei Province are relatively easy to ride. It was not until he entered the mountainous area of Shiyan that he truly felt the hardship of cycling. Cycling to the Qinling Mountains, the winding mountain roads stretching as far as the eye could see made him feel desperate. For this reason, he deliberately stopped looking at the road and rode with his head down.“ In this way, every time I felt my physical strength couldn't hold on any longer, I would look up and see the winding mountain road coming to an end, and I would regain my motivation.” He said. “Looking back on this experience in the future, I might have more courage to face difficulties.”

The help from strangers moved him

During the 17-day trip, Miao Kun's clothes hardly dried at all, and there were often sweat stains on his cycling suit. Although cycling was very tiring, the warmth from strangers during the journey touched him the most.

Miao Kun recalled that one day, while cycling, he suddenly encountered a heavy rainstorm. He ran to the doorstep of a nearby farmer's house to take shelter from the rain. The owner warmly brought out a stool for him to rest. When cycling in the mountainous area, the road workers by the roadside were afraid that he might get lost alone on the mountain and even drove to show him the way...

Although the journey was relatively smooth, Miao Kun also experienced some “dangerous moments.” “On the way, there was a section of the road where I chose a small path indicated by the navigation to take a shortcut. When I rode over, I found that this path was still under construction. The road surface was a mixture of water and stones, and I could still see the traces of rocks from the mountain falling onto the road. I could only push it along. ”Miao Kun recalled.

Crossing the Qinling Mountains and then following the Yellow River westward all the way to Lanzhou, the total cycling distance reached 1,625 kilometers. “It was like a dream. After getting home, I felt as if I was still on the way, reporting my safety to my family every day.” Recalling the 17-day cycling journey, Miao Kun said.

When she got home, Miao Kun's mother saw her son's legs, which were tanned black, feeling both heartbroken and proud. Miao Kun said that when he first made the decision to ride home, his parents couldn't understand at all. But after seeing him truly fulfill his idea, they were also proud of his persistence.

Miao Kun thought this cycling trip was well worth it. He said that in the future he would also try cycling on other routes.

After the summer vacation, Miao Kun is about to enter his senior year of college, and he also has some ideas about his future. Because he is very eager to visit Xinjiang, he plans to sign up for the Western Program and go to the grassroots level for training, hoping to experience the different local customs and traditions.

“Seeing him complete over a thousand kilometers of cycling, my classmates and I all thought he was so amazing!” Miao Kun's counselor, Zhang Xinyi, said that Miao Kun is a very optimistic, positive and confident student at school. He also actively participates in various volunteer activities in his spare time. He is honest and very responsible and just. His classmates all like him very much.