Cui Xiaoli

    cutelily@126.com

    “NEVER forget your dream destination, no matter how far it is and how difficult it is to reach. When you are hesitating whether to go, it will forever only be a dream. Only after you set out, you will find yourself closer and closer to it,” said Zhao Min, while sipping beer at 8 Carats Club in Longhua New Area.

    The year 2013 was extraordinary for Zhao, when she realized her life-long dream: a nationwide biking trip. She started riding from Shenzhen on Aug. 3, 2013 and arrived in Mohe, Helongjiang Province, the northernmost tip of China, on Nov. 6, 2013. Her 96-day trip from south to north covered 5,584 kilometers.

    Zhao admitted that she is a person who works and plays hard.

    This trip is Zhao’s first long-distance ride.

    “I started dreaming of a long-distance riding journey about two years ago, but until last summer I had not found the right team to join me in fulfilling the dream together,” said Zhao with a smile.

    Zhao said she admires herself more each time she sees her photos from the road.

    From summer

    to winter

    Zhao said she encountered numerous hardships on the road and at the same time enjoyed various sights.

    When Zhao arrived in Hunan on Aug. 11, the temperature there reached above 40 degrees Celsius. “The sweat got my clothes wet several times a day,” said Zhao. “Although I kept using sun cream every day, I tanned quickly in the sun.”

    When Zhao reached Heilongjiang in November, it snowed heavily.

    “I was freezing cold and I could even feel my liver shivering,” said Zhao.

    Zhao finally had to quit riding during the last 136 kilometers because the temperature hit minus 28 degrees Celsius and the frozen road was too slippery for riding. In addition, the bike’s brakes would not work at such low temperatures and this made riding very dangerous.

    “I feel a little bit of regret, but I had no choice because I could not keep falling down on the icy road with my bike,” said Zhao.

    Zhao and her teammates all regarded Inner Mongolia as having the most beautiful autumn.

    “The clean sky, vast grassland, the colorful sunset and the betula platyphylla forest will all be unforgettable memories in my life,” said Zhao.

    A good team

    Zhao said the main reason she realized her dream in 2013 was that she found the right team to go.

    “When I first chatted with the team leader about traveling by bike through QQ [the instant messenger provided by Tencent], I knew he was a nice person,” said Zhao, mentioning her team leader Wu Xiaoran.

    Wu was very experienced in riding, and Zhao decided to join him on this journey when he shared photos of traveling in Tibet on bike with Zhao.

    “He is very considerate and even prepared mini soap paper, mini foldable cups and mini mosquito incense for me,” said Zhao.

    “Actually, I was worried that Zhao, a woman, could be a little bit troublesome on the road. Therefore I told her a lot of difficulties of long-distance riding, attempting to let her give up,” said Wu. “But she was determined to go and even rode faster than us on the road.”

    Zhao’s team had four members, and the other three were all men. “They helped me repair my bike and carry it when we went up stairs, and I couldn’t have finished the trip without their help,” said Zhao.

    Zhao admitted that they sometimes quarreled about which route to follow the next day in the evening after a day of riding, but they always forgot the quarrel in the morning.

    “We became good friends after traveling,” said Zhao. “I also learned to be tolerant during the journey.”

    On the road

    Zhao said riding from south to north gave her a chance to taste various foods in different places.

    Zhao fell in love with fresh lotus seed after tasting them in Changsha, Hunan Province. Zhao said her teammates tried the most delicious pear in Hebei Province.

    “When we went through Henan Province, we felt that the peasants there are very warm-hearted,” said one member of Zhao’s team, Yuan Guoxiong.

    Yuan said a peasant he came across on the road in Henan prepared a full table of dishes for them after he invited the team to his home for a meal.

    “It is prejudiced that some people think about poverty and cheaters when we talk about Henan people,” Yuan said.

    Zhao said they tried to control their budget within 100 yuan (US$16) per person each day. “To save money, we once stayed in a hotel for 15 yuan and there was no bathroom and no place to wash your face or brush your teeth,” said Zhao.

    “The quilts there were dirty. I fell asleep thanks to the sleeping bag I took with me,” said Zhao.

    Zhao and Yuan even experienced camping in Inner Mongolia. “It was a remote area, and we were afraid that there were wolves,” said Yuan.

    “I was very cold outside, but I woke up four times during the evening because I felt hot. I wore all my layers of clothes,” said Zhao, laughing.

    Zhao took a lot of photos on the road and insisted on sharing photos and her feelings with friends through WeChat everyday.

    “I was exhausted after riding about 100 kilometers per day, but I insisted on sharing photos with my friends and family before I fell asleep,” Zhao said.

    “I see her photos everyday and I also dream of a biking journey myself,” said a friend of Zhao.

    Zhao had to quit her job before the trip. “I felt a little bit depressed at the end of each month, because I didn’t receive any salary,” said Zhao. “But I never felt any regret about this fantastic journey.”

    “Never forget your dream destination, no matter how far it is and how difficult it is to reach. When you are hesitating whether to go, it will forever only be a dream. Only after you set out, you will find yourself closer and closer to it,”

    — Zhao Min, who rode from Shenzhen to Mohe, Helongjiang Province, the northernmost tip of China, from Aug. 3, 2013 to Nov. 6, 2013.