A group of 11 senior cyclists with an average age of 68 is planning to spend 10 years completing the approximately 15,000-kilometer journey along the Silk Road from China to Italy. Full of determination, the team members said, “We want to keep chasing our dreams.” On September 6, they left Japan to begin their journey toward the starting point—Xi'an, China.
According to reports, the elderly cyclists have divided the route into 10 segments, each around 1,000 kilometers long. They plan to cycle through one segment each year before autumn ends, with the goal of reaching Rome, the capital of Italy, by 2022.
The event is organized by a civic group called the “Silk Road Miscellaneous Studies University.” The head of the group, 59-year-old Noritaka Nagasawa, once crossed the Taklamakan Desert by camel in 1992. At that time, he felt an urge to “see the world beyond once again.” From 1993 onward, Nagasawa and his friends spent 20 years cycling the entire length of the Silk Road. This is his second time taking on the challenge. Nagasawa said, “I want to see how much the world has changed over these 20 years. In China, cars have replaced bicycles as the main mode of transport, while bicycles are gradually making a comeback in the daily lives of Europeans.”
At 75, Hayao Hayashi is the oldest member of the cycling team. In his younger years, he worked for a seafood company and was always busy with work, but he never forgot the books about the Silk Road he read in high school. Hayashi practices monthly on a mountain bike to prepare for this expedition. He said, “In 10 years, I’ll be 85, cycling through Italy—that’s my dream. I don’t know what will happen along the way, but I’m very excited.”