Friends lift Huang Renyi high
Cycling Around China
59-year-old Huang Renyi from Jianyang initiated the “Grassroots 50,000-Li China Cycling Challenge,” covering a distance of 25,000 kilometers to cycle around China once.
Early Return
On the evening of the 17th, the two elders completed the 25,000-kilometer journey 12 days ahead of schedule and returned to downtown Jianyang, where relatives and friends held a “heroes’ banquet” to welcome them.
On May 3, three elders with an average age of 63 set off on bicycles from downtown Jianyang, planning to complete a 25,000-kilometer journey around China in 210 days. (This newspaper reported on May 4.) On the evening of November 17, except for 74-year-old Zeng Dequan who dropped out due to health reasons, the other two finished their “Grassroots 50,000-Li China Cycling Challenge” 12 days early and returned to downtown Jianyang, where relatives and friends held a “heroes’ banquet” to welcome and congratulate them.
Completing the 25,000-Kilometer Journey 12 Days Early
Yesterday, Huaxi Metropolis Daily contacted Huang Renyi, the 59-year-old initiator of the “Grassroots 50,000-Li China Cycling Challenge” from Jianyang, who was resting at home after the race. “The early completion of this challenge is thanks to the continuously improving road conditions,” Huang commented on the race.
Huang said that the annual “Tour de France” cycling race draws global attention. Feeling that China also has the capability to host a great “Around China Cycling Race,” he began organizing a self-challenge cycling tour around China every four years starting in 2004, with this being the third edition of the grassroots China cycling race. “When I participated in the 2004 and 2008 races, the roads from Sichuan to Xinjiang were still very poor—we called them ‘washboard roads.’ In many places, there wasn’t even a proper roadbed, and some sections could only be traversed by following the tracks left by vehicles. This time, out of the 4,800 kilometers from Chengdu to Xinjiang, only 700 kilometers were difficult to ride.”
“Given the previous road conditions, we had expected the race to take 210 days, but we didn’t anticipate such rapid improvements in road quality, and the road signs were also well established, allowing us to finish 12 days early,” Huang said, adding that the next edition of the China cycling race might be able to be completed entirely on asphalt roads.
Cycling 18 Hours Across 280 Kilometers of Gobi Desert
Starting from Jianyang, heading west through Chengdu into Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, reaching the three northeastern provinces, and finally riding south through the southwestern Yunnan Province back to Chengdu, their route passed through 23 provinces and municipalities. The 25,000-kilometer journey included a successful crossing of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which Huang Renyi spoke about with pride. In 2004, when Huang rode through Tibet alone, his fingernails were frostbitten off, and strong winds once lifted him several meters into the air before throwing him more than 10 meters away. “I almost lost my life back then. This time, although we were in a group, there were no cases of frostbite or falls, and we also successfully avoided severe windstorms.”
Huang said the most challenging section was crossing the Ngari region of Tibet, known as the “forbidden zone of life.” “Along the way, more people joined our group, and by the time we reached Ngari, there were six of us. The youngest was a 50-something elder from Anhui, but he suffered from altitude sickness.” When climbing a high mountain in Ngari, over 5,000 meters in elevation, they pedaled with great difficulty. “We had to stop to rest after every few hundred meters. The elder from Anhui couldn’t eat and kept vomiting. We helped push his bike and supported him until we finally crossed the mountain and safely reached the rest stop.”
“Later, we once rode non-stop for 18 hours, crossing more than 280 kilometers of desolate Gobi Desert,” Huang said, explaining that they rode from 6 a.m. to midnight, pushing their physical limits to the extreme.
Documenting the Journey with a 100,000-Word Cycling Diary
To document the 198-day, 25,000-kilometer journey, Huang Renyi wrote a cycling diary of over 100,000 words and took more than 1,000 photos. “As an individual grassroots effort, I have successfully explored the path for China to host a ‘Cycling Around China’ race. Next time, I aim to finish 10 days earlier,” Huang said. He spent approximately 30,000 yuan on this cycling trip, receiving support from many fellow cyclists, while declining donations from others along the way.
“Had it not been for a recurrence of hemorrhoids, 74-year-old Zeng Dequan could have completed the entire journey. His physical condition was excellent,” Huang said. Of the three who set out, only he and Wang Baifu completed the ride. “It’s a great pity—we didn’t become the first team of elderly cyclists to successfully cycle around China.”
On November 17, upon learning that Huang Renyi would be returning to Jianyang, Zeng Dequan was very excited. He rode his bicycle to Renshou County in Meishan to welcome him, and the three rode back to downtown Jianyang together. “If my health permits, I will join the next Grassroots China Cycling Race,” Zeng said.