Cyclist Qin Yisen’s meticulously planned six-month journey is now officially underway as he embarks on his solo Eurasian motorbike adventure.
As a photographer, cycling around the world has always been his dream. This trip is the first leg of his solo global journey. Without any companions or support, he will ride his BMW GS1200 ADV motorcycle alone for 180 days, retracing the Silk Road from Taiyuan to London — a total distance of 30,000 kilometers across 14 countries and 150 cities. According to the itinerary, he plans to cover around 500 kilometers per day on average, with the highest single-day mileage reaching up to 800 kilometers. This will be a challenge both for him and his bike.
Proposed (tentative) cycling route:
Russia – Estonia – Latvia – Lithuania – Poland – Czech Republic – Germany – France – Netherlands – Denmark – Norway – Sweden – Finland
This Eurasian cycling journey isn’t his first long-distance trip. Since 2011, he has cycled to places like Tibet and Southeast Asia, but this is the first time he will undertake such a long and distant journey entirely on his own. He faces numerous challenges along the way: his spoken language skills are limited, making even basic daily communication difficult, and his translation apps may become useless due to poor signal; the loneliness of traveling solo in completely foreign lands, among unfamiliar languages and people, is perhaps the most daunting aspect; not to mention the various predictable and unpredictable dangers. But none of this can stop him from pursuing his dream.
Many would say that traveling solo without support or supplies is dangerous, and that there are other ways to experience different sights. But Qin has never taken the conventional path. Years ago, against his family’s wishes, he gave up a coveted civil service job to become a struggling Beijing drifter, enduring all the hardships that came with it. Spotting a business opportunity, he returned to Taiyuan and within just three years built one of the city’s most expensive wedding photography businesses, later expanding with branches in Beijing and Sanya. His motivation has always been simple: to live life on his own terms, filled with anticipation and passion every day.
The world is so big, and we all want to see it. In today’s fast-paced life, how many can actually act on the impulse to just go? Riding solo across thousands of miles has been the dream of many, yet few turn it into reality. Today, this dream-chaser, who doesn’t speak a foreign language, sets off with courage and determination on a lonely, uncertain, and exciting journey. Through his actions, he shows us that turning dreams into reality isn’t as hard as it seems — there really are people out there living the life you dream of.
This cycling journey will be livestreamed in its entirety on Douyu Video. He will take everyone on a close-up journey through foreign landscapes. For specific details of the itinerary and anything else viewers want to see, stay tuned to the livestream.
Log onto Douyu and search for “Qin Yisen” to witness this year’s most epic cycling livestream.