The Endless Joy of Bicycling

By Li Lanxin

“I once spent four months riding from London to the north of Norway and then turned south toward the‘heel’ in the boot of Italy.” Alan’s eyes sparkled with pride as he recalled his adventure from years ago, as if that twelve-thousandkilometer-long journey was unfolding right in front of him.

In 2002, Alan Laine left Britain and came to Wuhan as a teacher,where he stayed at Wuhan Britain-China International School for the next sixteen years.As a good mentor, he has unveiled the mysterious world of physics to a great number of students and won the admiration of his students with his rich knowledge.Wuhan Municipal People’s Government presented the Yellow Crane Friendship Award to him in 2012, commending him for his outstanding contribution to education. No one would have expected that Alan, a tall, thin,and academically-minded man had such a physically challenging hobby and such astonishing experiences.

It was two years after obtaining his PhD in Physics at University of Liverpool, that Alan bought his veryfirst bicycle. At that time,he was enthusiastically fond of a variety of sports, and he had always been energetic. In order to challenge himself, he started cycling. Though the long cycling journeys were often accompanied by bad weather, rugged roads,and exhaustion, Alan never quit midway. He said, “It’s a pleasant thing to get away from the crowded, noisy cities sometimes and to ride freely on the peaceful country roads surrounded by beautiful sceneries.”

For a cyclist like him, the dream of adventures would never perish,and the journey of cycling would never come to an end. When in China, he continued to pursue his passion for cycling. After settling in Wuhan, he took more interest in cycling the areas and cities nearby. In the summer of 2014,he indulged himself in a 15-day journey around Hubei Province.Starting in Wuhan, he rode 1350 kilometers in total before reaching his destination Xiantao.Along the way, he stopped at a number of places like Xiaogan,Suizhou, Xiangyang, Shiyan,Liuliping Town, Fang County,Shen Nongjia, Muyu Town,Yichang, and Jingzhou, where he rested for one day everyfive days.

Each land nurtures its own culture and fantastic landscape in Alan’s eyes. In Anlu County of Xiaogan, he witnessed that locals put up rows of bamboo shelves and hang up noodles as thin as hair, which glittered in the sun.In Xiangyang, he read the story of Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage in Gulongzhong and spent some time envisioning Zhuge Liang’s legendary life.Arriving at Muyu Town after zigzagging mountain roads in Shennongjia, he looked back and was astounded to find his trail was partly hidden and partly visible among the curving slope of the mountains. Stopping at Jingzhou, he put his hands on the age-old city walls that had been destroyed and rebuilt again and again in more turbulent times and imagined the raging wars hundreds or thousands of years ago. It seemed to him that he was not only cycling through different places, but also through time and Chinese culture.

“Sometimes it was scorching hot, and sometimes it rained cats and dogs. Usually things just don’t go smoothly all the way,”Alan said. However, for him, the significance of cycling comes from more than the cycling itself.It’s what he hears, sees, feels,and experiences that makes the journey worthwhile.

It’s safe to cycle around in China. Sometimes Alan travels alone, and sometimes he travels with a friend or two; sometimes he goes on an expedition, and sometimes he takes a short trip around. In 2012, He rode 1100 kilometers on the route from Kashi, Xinjiang to Xining,Qinghai, and last year, he rode 800 kilometers from Wuhan to Zhang jiajie and the Ancient City of Phoenix in Hunan Province.

“I haven’t decided where my next stop is or where I will head for next time,” Alan said briskly with a smile on his face.“There are so many places in the vast land of China that are waiting out there for me to explore.The road ahead is endless. And that applies to both the path of education as well as the journey of cycling.”

“我曾用四個月時間，從倫敦騎自行車到挪威北部，再轉頭南下至意大利最南端。”提起年輕時的經歷，艾倫眼里閃爍著自豪，那一萬二千公里的路程似乎就在眼前。

2002年，艾倫·雷從英國來到武漢教書，在武外英中學校一駐就是十六年。他像一個引路人，給數不清的學生撥開了物理世界的迷霧。在學生眼里，他博學多識，因杰出的教育貢獻而榮獲武漢市“黃鶴友誼獎”。誰能想到，瘦瘦高高、熱愛學術的他，還有著這樣與眾不同的愛好和令人驚嘆的經歷。

那是在獲得利物浦大學物理博士學位兩年后，艾倫買下了他平生第一輛自行車。那時的他酷愛各類運動，渾身充滿活力，為了挑戰自我，他開始了騎行運動。漫漫騎行途中，總是伴隨著各種困難，天氣、路況、體力都挑戰著他，他堅持一直向前，再向前。他說：“離開喧鬧的大城市，自由地騎行在美麗的大自然和小村落里，是一件令人享受的事情。”

對于騎行者來說，夢想和路是沒有盡頭的。艾倫對騎行的熱愛到中國后并未改變。定居武漢后，他把目光投向武漢周邊境域。 2014年夏天，他開始了一段15天的湖北騎行之旅。從武漢到孝感，再到隨州、襄陽和十堰六里坪，穿房縣和神農架木魚鎮，過宜昌、荊州,最后抵達仙桃，全程1350公里，騎五天歇一天。

在艾倫眼里，每一片土地都有不一樣的風情：途徑孝感安陸時，人們在一排排的竹架上曬細如發絲的面條，面條在陽光照射下閃閃發亮；行至襄陽，在古隆中重溫三顧茅廬的故事，想象諸葛亮的傳奇人生；穿過神農架綿綿不絕的山路，在木魚鎮回望來路，隱現于層巒疊嶂之中；騎至荊州，能撫摸幾經摧毀又幾經重建的古城，感受千百年來的兵家之爭……在騎行時，穿過的不僅僅是道路，還有時間和中華文化。

“有時太陽很毒，有時又陰雨綿綿，騎行不會總是一帆風順。”艾倫說。對于他而言，如今騎行的魅力早已超乎騎行之外，旅途中所見所聞、親身感受的民俗文化，似乎更有意義和價值。

在中國騎行很安全，艾倫有時獨自上路，有時和其他人結伴而行，有遠征，也有短途。2012年，他曾從新疆喀什斷斷續續騎行1100公里到青海西寧。而去年，他又從武漢騎行800公里前往湖南張家界、鳳凰古城。

“將來我會前往哪里、騎向哪一站，我也不知道。”艾倫笑了笑，有些調皮地說道，“中國這片土地上還有太多值得探索的地方。路無止盡，教育之路是這樣，騎行之路亦是如此吧。”