Early on the 24th, the “men and boys” of Tonghai County in Yuxi were amused by what they saw: a handsome young man riding an old-fashioned bicycle to woo his bride, followed by a procession of bicycles. His buddies, determined to make the groom “remember this day forever,” threw obstacles in his way — some leaned on his shoulders for leverage, while others playfully “whacked” him with sticks along the cycling parade. Watching the groom drenched in sweat, everyone cheered him on, but couldn’t help sighing, “It’s really not easy to get a bride!”
30-plus bicycles for the wedding procession
“Exhausting but joyful.” The groom’s online name is Xiaobao, as he reminisced about the details of his cycling wedding.
“My family had originally planned to hire a flower car,” Xiaobao said. He works in Honghe Prefecture and two months ago saw someone use a motorcycle convoy for their wedding, which he found very creative. He and his friends are also keen cyclists. After looking up info online about cycling weddings, they felt it was both eco-friendly and memorable, so they discussed it with the bride and decided on it. Naturally, once the couple agreed, their families were all for it too.
Because the rear rack of a geared bicycle isn’t great for carrying passengers, Xiaobao borrowed an old-style bicycle to carry his bride. By early on the 24th, friends who had been pre-arranged arrived at Xiaobao’s home on bicycles they had “dressed up,” and then they set off together.
Xiaobao spoke animatedly about the events of the wedding procession day. “To protect the environment, ensure safety, and keep our wedding attire clean, we decided not to set off firecrackers, and instead used the clinking sound of aluminum cans hitting each other to replace them.” Xiaobao laughed as he spoke. The friends’ 30-plus bicycles were decorated with ribbons and balloons, while his own bike was adorned with a bouquet of roses and lilies, plus fifty or sixty aluminum cans.
Ride slow and get “whacked”
“I was the only one on an old-style bicycle; everyone else rode geared bikes.” Xiaobao still felt a bit “wronged.” He was carrying his bride, who weighed over 50 kilograms, which wasn’t too hard to ride. What made it harder was that the friends behind him rested their arms on his shoulders, and the others in the procession instinctively linked arms one after another, forming a long chain of bicycles. They didn’t pedal at all — some even intentionally hit the brakes.
“That meant I was basically pulling over 30 people on bicycles by myself — you can imagine how tough it was.” Just as Xiaobao was straining to pedal the old bicycle, he felt a solid whack on his foot. It turned out that besides the cycling team, there was someone else holding a stick ready to “serve” him — whenever Xiaobao slowed down, that person would mercilessly bring the stick down on his foot. “That stick wasn’t just for show — it really hit my foot, and it hurt badly.”
And the friends behind him were all laughing at his misfortune when he got hit.
Onlookers wanted a cycling wedding too
“People were watching from the streets and alleys — it was really something special. Even I didn’t expect it to be that fun.” Though the ride was tough, Xiaobao felt it was both hard work and sweet joy. Along the way, they passed many wedding flower car processions, but theirs was the only unique one — a cycling wedding. “Some flower cars even stopped to watch us.”
“Because our friends came up with all sorts of wedding pranks along the way, it took us about two hours to get home. We couldn’t even get through the door — there were crowds three layers deep, all packed with onlookers. Everyone thought it was so rare to see someone marry by bicycle that they came to watch.”
While the onlookers watched the spectacle, when Xiaobao’s friend posted photos and the full story of the cycling wedding online, it attracted a wave of netizen attention. Some even joked about going back to discuss a cycling wedding with their girlfriends.