In Xiacheng District, Hangzhou, Hu Bingrong, a 66-year-old man, has recently become a local celebrity because he cycled all the way from Hangzhou to Hainan and then rode back home. For three months, the elderly man simply couldn’t stop.
The Hu we see now is lean and wiry, but in great spirits. His wife, Aunt Yan, frowns and says: “Previously, the old man received several critical illness notices. This time, I really couldn’t stop him. He cycled for three months, and I worried for 90 days. Now he’s lost over 20 pounds, but he actually looks more spirited!”
Once a sickly man
Now a cycling fitness icon
Before cycling to Hainan, Hu was a frail and sickly man. Why did he decide to cycle all the way to Hainan? Many people asked him this question. Hu said, “I just wanted to see if I could do it. At my age, if I don’t go wild now, it’ll be too late!”
Hu says it lightly, but the truth is, the old man really trained for it.
It turns out that before retiring, Hu worked as a fitter at a machinery repair plant. After a serious work-related accident, he spent seven full years lying in a hospital bed. He had varicose veins and suffered from bronchial hemoptysis, even receiving multiple critical illness notices.
After retiring, Hu had a change of heart—nothing matters more than health. Every evening, Hu would walk along the Zhongdong River to Jiefang Bridge and back, a round trip of about an hour. Every morning, he would cycle from home to places like Fuyang and Yuhang, even just riding around the suburbs of Hangzhou, which would still take one or two hours.
Hu’s body grew stronger and stronger, and his ambition for cycling gradually expanded. He began increasing the range of his rides—from Hangzhou to Yiwu, Pujiang, Wenzhou. Starting in 2012, Hu tried cycling to Nanjing, then looping around Taihu Lake, which he managed quite easily in ten days.
With confidence growing, Hu decided to challenge himself—he would start from Hangzhou and ride all the way south.
Basic gear for the road
Daily calls home to report safety
For this trip, Hu decided to go to Hainan. Once he made up his mind, he started preparing his gear.
A cycling cap, gifted by a cycling friend from Lin’an. An old 28T bicycle, which he specially bought for 400 yuan in Lin’an. The tool bag hanging on the bike frame was sewn by Hu himself, containing tools like hammers, wrenches, and pumps for repairing bikes and fixing flats in case of breakdowns.
In the basket, there was a plastic bag with various snacks. On the rear rack was a large travel bag containing a tent, sleeping bag, and two changes of clothes. The sleeping bag was handmade by Hu—by cutting and sewing old down jackets from home, he made himself a warm sleeping bag.
With such simple gear, on November 20, 2013, Hu set off from Hangzhou. He traveled all the way from Zhejiang to Fujian, then through Guangdong to Hainan, and finally cycled back to Hangzhou. He arrived home on February 24 of this year.
His wife, Aunt Yan, was strongly opposed at first, but when Hu insisted and their daughter agreed, they let him go—but asked him to call every day to report that he was safe.
Looking at the photos Hu took along the way, Aunt Yan realized her husband had really done something remarkable.
66-Year-Old Hu Becomes a Star
Young Cyclists Love Taking Photos with Him
Along the way, Hu mostly cycled along national highways, riding for seven or eight hours each day, covering roughly 60 to 70 kilometers. At night, he would pitch a tent by the roadside and camp.
Old Shi was someone Hu met when he camped by the roadside in Wenzhou. Old Shi, 56, also cycles. A few months ago, he set off from Liaoning heading to Guangzhou. The two men chatted through the night and decided to cycle together.
On the way to Hainan, Hu also met many young men and women, mostly university students who were cycling to Hainan for vacation. Seeing someone his age coming all the way from Hangzhou, they all gave him a thumbs-up and asked to take photos with him.
Hu said that when traveling, it's important to be kind to others. Along the way, he met many university students whose bikes broke down, so he offered to fix them.
On the way back from Hainan, it was particularly cold on New Year’s Eve. Hu said: “Back then, most shops were closed for the holidays. I bought 20 steamed buns two days early, and survived the holiday mostly on buns.”
On New Year’s Eve night, Hu spent the night on the dirt path by the roadside, sleeping in a tent with the wind howling. Eating a cold steamed bun, he missed home terribly.
But Hu said this kind of travel is very meaningful, and he plans to continue his cycling life.