Wearing a blue cycling jersey, a colorful silk scarf around his neck, a pair of gray sunglasses hanging from his chest, black gloves, and a black beret, this man—about 1.75 meters tall with dark skin—looks nothing like someone who has passed sixty.
Cycling in His Sixties Helped Him Regain His Health
Zhou Jianping lives in Meiyuan Apartment, Shushan District, and was formerly an optical research scientist at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics on Science Island. In 2003, Zhou was diagnosed with colon cancer and soft tissue cancer in his left arm, and doctors even suggested amputating his left arm.
Zhou did not go through with the amputation, but once the soft tissue cancer recurs, a large lump forms under the arm, which then needs to be surgically removed. Over the years, Zhou has undergone five surgeries on his arm.
"The arm remained, but my left hand is disabled," Zhou said with a wry smile. Due to the damage from the surgeries, his left hand’s fingers are now stiff and curled, cold to the touch, and completely numb.
By chance, Zhou joined a cycling group at the encouragement of a friend. "At first, the bike seat hurt my butt, and my legs ached terribly," Zhou recalled, admitting he thought about quitting. "But gradually, I built up from 20 kilometers to 30, then 40, and now I can cycle over 200 kilometers in a day."
Unlike most cyclists, Zhou’s left hand is numb, so he relies solely on his right hand to control the brakes. As a result, his bicycle is specially configured with reversed brake levers, and fellow cyclists affectionately call him "One-Armed Cyclist, Old Zhou."
In Zhou’s view, the biggest benefit of cycling is improved health. "When I go for medical checkups, many of my health indicators have returned to normal," Zhou said. He also plans to cycle to Tibet to challenge his limits. "Over the past two years, I’ve pretty much cycled through all the cities in the province, exploring the natural scenery of both southern and northern Anhui," Zhou said with a smile. In two years, he has cycled over 20,000 kilometers. "Now I often go to places like Huainan, Fuyang, and Shou County, making day trips back and forth—it’s like taking a walk."
So far, Zhou’s longest ride was from Hefei to Sanya, which took a full 18 days. "Late last year, my teammates and I cycled over 2,700 kilometers to Sanya, Hainan. Along the way, in every city we passed, we had the local post office stamp our notebook."
This year during Qingming Festival, Zhou cycled back to his hometown of Shanghai in three days. On May 6, he and 10 other cyclists went to Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang, making a 10-day round trip.
"I also plan to do an island-wide cycling tour in Taiwan with my teammates, and I might go to Guilin, Guangxi, in the second half of the year," Zhou said. If his health permits, "I’d also really like to cycle to Tibet and challenge my limits."