The long way home

Jia Yanmei (right, front row) is joined by other cycling fans during her journey from Beijing to her hometown in Sichuan province.

Initially, Jia dared not pick up the phone because she was afraid that her parents would ask her to quit and take a train home. After Jia's explanation and persistence, her parents told her to be careful - and phoned every day to check her safety.

It would have cost her less than 300 yuan ($49.50) to take a 25-hour train back to her hometown. She spent about 1,000 yuan on the cycle, which was half of her budget, saving some money because many cycling fans offered her free meals and accommodations.

"Most cycling fans get to know each other online and cycle together from time to time. Although I barely knew those who helped me and welcomed me, our bicycles and helmets connected us," she says.

She and Wang also met some cyclists on their way, who were all men. They shared road information, locations of the best scenic spots, and even offered them hot water.

"These small things touched me. You could hardly have such experiences by air or by train," she says.

She had three birthdays. Her cycling friends celebrated it before her journey, journalists who interviewed her twice bought birthday cakes when they learned her birthday was on Jan 17.

When they were about to arrive in Sichuan after several days' riding in Shaanxi province, about 40 cycling fans from Sichuan rode nearly 50 km to Qipanguan, at the border of the two provinces, to welcome Jia and Wang, with congratulatory banners and flowers.

"At that moment I felt that I was really home!" she says. "It was like a torch relay. Kind-hearted cycling fans from different places greeted us on the whole journey."

"Some may think it's boring to ride bicycles, but only those who have the same cycling experience will empathize with me. The closer I'm to my home, the warmer I feel in my heart," she says.