Group photo of cyclists
They spent 28 days cycling 2,200 kilometers along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, facing many perilous situations along the way.
Is cycling into the high-altitude, rugged, and climate-variable Tibet a self-challenge or an adventure?
Spending 28 days to cycle 2,200 kilometers along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway... Yesterday, six members of the Chongqing Passionate Bikers team spoke with emotion about their recent journey. They said that biking into Tibet is a test of physical strength, endurance, and skills, requiring full preparation, otherwise it could even be life-threatening.
14-year-old young cyclist faints
The group biking into Tibet consisted of 20 members of the Passionate Bikers team. The team leader “Free Rainbow” is a 40-year-old man. He said they had been planning this activity for a year and made meticulous preparations. According to their initial plan, the more than 2,200-kilometer Sichuan-Tibet route was to be completed in 28 days. The team had 20 people, with the oldest being 60-year-old “Old Cotton Pants,” a retired teacher from Chongqing University, and the youngest being a 14-year-old second-year junior high student “Xiao Wei.” There were also two women in their 30s. They set off from Chongqing on May 18, gathered at the start of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in Chengdu, and then headed to Tibet.
“Xiao Wei” said he had only been cycling for half a year, and the farthest he had ridden before was to places like the 300 Steps of Gele Mountain and Nanshan. After watching the movie "Kora," in which a Taiwanese person cycled into Tibet to fulfill his brother’s dream, he was inspired to bike to Tibet himself. When he proposed the idea to his parents, they strongly opposed it at first, citing his young age. But after his persistent insistence, his mother finally agreed to his plan, but set two rules: one, his mother must accompany him in an SUV, and two, he could only go as far as Xinduqiao, 1,000 kilometers away.
After departing from Chengdu, “Xiao Wei” caught a cold. When riding on the wide road of Qionglai, he unknowingly dozed off. Fortunately, his teammates noticed in time and stopped him to rest for a while before continuing. When climbing over the 4,200-meter Zheduo Mountain, inexperienced “Xiao Wei,” driven by enthusiasm, made a sudden burst of speed. Due to overexertion, he suffered from oxygen deprivation and fainted, which terrified his accompanying mother. Fortunately, after resting, “Xiao Wei” recovered.
“Xiao Wei” said that after arriving at Xinduqiao, he parted ways with his teammates as per the agreement with his mother, loaded his bicycle in the trunk of the SUV, and returned to Chongqing.
Encountering a rotating wind of force 8 or above
“Free Rainbow” said that the cycling journey from Ya'an, Kangding to Batang had smooth road conditions, but starting from Batang, the roads became very poor, with frequent landslides. It is reported that the nearly 2,000-meter relative elevation difference makes Juoba Mountain the hardest and most time-consuming mountain to climb on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. The road extends along cliffs, with neither guardrails nor road signs, and many sections were literally chiseled out of the mountainside, with cliffs above and deep valleys below. The entire team rode cautiously.
While crossing Juoba Mountain, which sits at an altitude of 1,300 meters on the edge of the Sichuan-Tibet region, danger suddenly struck. When the team reached a bend in the mountain, an enormous rotating wind of force 8 or above blew, causing some bicycles to shake and nearly get blown off the cliff. “Free Rainbow” urged teammates to ride as close to the center line as possible.
Despite this, “Night Patrol,” a man in his 20s, was hit in the hand by a flying rock, causing blood to flow freely. It was only after getting out of danger that his teammates were able to bandage and treat his wound.
College junior falls down a 300-meter cliff
On June 5, the team was on a downhill section of the 72 Bends in Bangda, Tibet, when female team member “Snail” looked back at her pannier while pedaling. Her handlebars suddenly lost control, causing her bicycle to overturn. “Snail” rolled several times on the road, lying on the ground for a few minutes before getting up and realizing she had injured her waist and ears. Teammates immediately stopped to clean her wounds and applied basic first aid. They suggested she abandon the bicycle and hitch a ride, and one teammate even flagged down a large truck, but “Snail” refused. She insisted on riding her bicycle to the Bangda health clinic, where three stitches were given, and then continued riding to Lhasa for a change of dressing.
“Free Rainbow” also recounted another unfortunate incident they encountered. On the afternoon of June 2 at around 4 PM, as they entered Mangkang County in Tibet, the team met another group of cyclists heading into Tibet. Among them, a girl in a red shirt, about 20 years old, left a deep impression on him. Through conversation, he learned that she was from Shaanxi and was a college junior. Soon after, the girl’s team rode ahead. More than two hours later, “Free Rainbow” and his team came across a body being carried down from the mountain. Police informed them that it was the same red-shirted girl they had met earlier. On a downhill curve, due to excessive speed and loss of steering control, she and her bicycle plunged down a cliff approximately 300 meters high.