"Driving a train isn't as thrilling or fun as riding a bicycle!" said Chen Yazhou, head of the Wunan Single-track Cycling Club in Wuwei, Gansu.
Chen Yazhou, 43, is a train driver at the Jiayuguan Locomotive Depot of the Lanzhou Railway Bureau and an avid cycling enthusiast. Over half of the more than 80 members of the Single-track Cycling Club are train drivers from the Jiayuguan Locomotive Depot.
The ongoing 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race entered its 13th day of competition on July 11. Although the entire race is nearing its end, the cycling craze that swept through the northwest over these 13 days continues.
The 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake, spanning the three provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, has traveled from the Tibetan Plateau to the Hexi Corridor and then to the banks of the Yellow River. The areas it passes through have become the most lively festivals in the host cities, and the amateur races designed specifically for enthusiasts before each official stage race have further ignited their sporting passion.
Wuwei was the starting point of the 10th stage of the 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake. Recalling the race held two days ago, Chen Yazhou was still very excited: "I never expected to witness such a high-level international sports event right at my doorstep—it’s unforgettable for life." Before the start of this stage, 40 cycling enthusiasts from Wuwei rode 8 kilometers on the course, and Chen Yazhou was one of them.
To pay tribute to the Tour of Qinghai Lake, the Single-track Cycling Club specially organized an ultra-long-distance cycling event on May 26 this year. Taking advantage of their annual leave, Chen Yazhou and three other train drivers, along with one railway power supply worker, a group of five, set off from Chengdu and spent 25 days cycling along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway to Lhasa, covering a distance of over 2,000 kilometers.
"We want to express our passion in this way, and we also hope more people will join this low-carbon, environmentally friendly sport," Chen Yazhou told reporters. "Driving a train is a bit monotonous, not as close to nature as cycling, with the freedom to choose your route and decide where to go and where to stop. Moreover, the scenery along the way is boundless."
The Tour of Qinghai Lake has been around for eleven years. Under its influence and drive, road cycling in the vast northwestern part of China is thriving. The Wuwei Xiliang Cavalry Cycling Club, established earlier this year, already has more than 130 members, many of whom joined after hearing that the Tour of Qinghai Lake would come to Wuwei, and the number of applicants continues to grow. The Gansu Shunfeng Cycling Extreme Sports Club currently has over 3,000 members, the largest in Gansu. Song Zihai, the club’s head, said that more than 800 of them joined in the past year alone. This is because the 10th Tour of Qinghai Lake came to Lanzhou in 2011, and this year the race expanded to four cities in Gansu, which is sure to attract even more people to love cycling.
Yang Wei, deputy director of the 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake Organizing Committee and director of the Gansu Provincial Sports Bureau, said that this year the Tour of Qinghai Lake has introduced many creative ideas to enhance interaction with the public, such as holding amateur races before each official stage and organizing honor rides in some stages. The practice since the start of the race has shown that such activities have been warmly welcomed by people in every host location.
Zhangye was the first stop in Gansu for the 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake. Ma Haiyuan, 66, who once served as the chairman of the trade union at the People's Bank of China Zhangye Central Branch, retired and settled with his family in Zhuhai, Guangdong. Upon hearing that the Tour of Qinghai Lake would be in Zhangye, he returned to his hometown more than 10 days in advance. He said that the feeling of having the cyclists "whiz" past him in person is something that cannot be experienced on TV.
Guardiini, a rider from the British FAR cycling team, said that the cheers of the audience are one of the motivations for the riders, especially when approaching the final sprint—the surrounding cheers can fill one with energy, and he can feel this enthusiasm at every stage.
Feng Jianping, director of the Qinghai Provincial Sports Bureau, said that the Tour of Qinghai Lake stages are updated every year. This is done not only to increase the challenge and spectator appeal but also to expand the base of supporters. The Tour of Qinghai Lake can only maintain lasting vitality if it wins strong support from the people in various regions.
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