Zhu Dehui (second from left) and some teammates.
Currently studying mathematics at East China Normal University in Shanghai, Zhu is from Macau. This medium-built, slightly tanned young man accomplished a “feat” during this year’s Spring Festival—leading 14 other Macau university students studying on the mainland from Beijing, completing a nearly 1,400-kilometer “Cycling Across China” relay over 14 days in two segments.
“‘No regrets after cycling, but regrets if we didn’t.’ That’s how the teammates described the journey,” said Zhu, who believes long-distance cycling best builds physical strength and willpower. “Although it was tough at the time, I’ll be grateful to my past self for the effort.”
Talking about his cycling history, Zhu is “very familiar with the details”: “I learned to ride a bike in my first year of high school. There are no bike lanes in Macau, so I basically didn’t ride.” Two years ago, Zhu first rode with classmates from school to Shanghai South Railway Station in just two hours. He realized that cycling could also be a great way to travel, and since then he hasn’t been able to stop. Even when returning to Macau, he brings his beloved bike back “to cruise around the streets when there are fewer cars at night.” Gradually, Zhu began trying to cycle beyond Shanghai.
In April 2011, while cycling to Nanjing with a friend, Zhu met a Frenchman. This interesting Frenchman told them he planned to spend four months cycling from Shanghai to France. “At that moment, I thought maybe I could take some time to go on a cycling trip too.” In April 2012, after completing a ride of more than 400 kilometers around Qinghai Lake, he was certain he was ready for this major crossing between Beijing and Shanghai.
After making a detailed cycling plan with two close cycling friends, earlier this year Zhu began “recruiting” in the Macau student community to form a cycling team. In mid-February, he and nine teammates set off from Beijing, passing through Tianjin and Cangzhou, and then moved on to Jinan. There, another five teammates took over the relay, passing through Xintai, Linyi, Lianyungang, Yancheng, and Nantong, before finally reaching Shanghai.
As the team leader, Zhu not only cycled the full distance along with three other members and took care of the teammates, but also had to “steer the course.” “Once we were actually on the road, we discovered many situations were completely different from what we had expected.” When the team cycled through Mengyin County in Shandong, headwinds and rugged terrain almost made him give up. “When planning, we usually only look at flat maps. That noon I opened a satellite map and realized we had spent four hours climbing over a mountain in the morning.” Since the hotel was already booked and the route couldn’t be changed, Zhu had the exhausted teammates take a bus to leave, while he led the remaining ones and kept cycling until 10:30 p.m. before arriving at the hotel. “At that time, the psychological pressure on me was immense. To this day, I haven’t faced anything tougher than that.”
But, “the rewards of the journey far outweigh the hardships.” For Zhu, the greatest joy of cycling is meeting all kinds of people. He held out his wrist to show the author a red plastic wristband. “This is a souvenir given to me by a cycling race referee I met by chance in Beijing. That person not only taught us how to fix bikes but also gave us some parts. Though we only knew each other for three hours, it felt like we were old friends.”
Zhu will graduate this summer. “I plan to return to Macau to become a teacher, but I will definitely come to the mainland to cycle during winter and summer breaks.” He has already planned to complete a 2,200-kilometer ride from Shanghai to Macau after graduation. And next summer, he plans to further challenge high altitudes by cycling the Sichuan-Tibet Highway with his close cycling friends from this trip.