Riding free

He has cycled across most of China and plans to keep traveling anywhere he can reach on two wheels. Deng Zhangyu chats to a man who lives by the seat of his bicycle.

How much did your bicycle cost? Are you married? How many children do you have? These were the most common questions posed to Spaniard David Barrionuevo as he rode across China over the past five years.

Barrionuevo's friend who runs a bike shop in Madrid paid for the bike. And the cyclist has fallen in love with a woman in Beijing, but he is not married yet, so no children.

Since moving to China in 2008, Barrionuevo has ridden his bike Manila, his "true passion", throughout China, from Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province, to the mountains and rivers of Sichuan province and the snow-covered mountains of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"When I ride to those places, people invite me into their houses for dinner and offer me a bed. They are very nice and like to share their stories with me," says the 39-year-old as he shows pictures of his trips. Some are photos of remote landscapes, others are of the people and families he met on the road.

Every time he arrives in a new place, he learns how to say sorry in the local dialect, to hopefully avoid causing any offense, but the people he met in the western part of China are often very kind.

Barrionuevo says when he rode across the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, he was invited by a local on the street to live with his family. During his three-day stay, Barrionuevo helped the family clean, cut firewood and make a fire for cooking. When he was about to say goodbye, the grandmother of the family cried and asked him to stay longer.

"People in the region are very simple, kind-hearted and hospitable, even though they have no idea where I'm from," Barrionuevo adds.

The cyclist started exploring the world by bike at 19. He has cycled through Scotland, France, the Netherlands and many other European countries. In 2005, he and a friend from Argentina walked from Chengdu to Kunming in Yunnan province, his first trip to China. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing inspired Barrionuevo to ride from Madrid to Beijing, a four-month journey.

Barrionuevo had worked as a golf coach in Madrid for more than a decade, but he was bored with his job and the changing face of China and Asia excited him. After the 2008 Olympics, Barrionuevo made a decision to stay in China and learn Chinese, the beginning of a new chapter in his life.

"He has a free soul. He has sacrificed a lot to continue his cycling," says Han Peipei, Barrionuevo's Chinese girlfriend. They met at a language center in Beijing five years ago.

Like most parents, Barrionuevo's father, who runs a small factory in Madrid, wants his son to get married and have a family. However, Barrionuevo's mother supports her son's free-spirited lifestyle.

"Cycling is the best way to explore a new place. The average speed of 15 kilometers an hour gives cyclists a better understanding of the scenery passing by and the opportunity to meet more friends," says Barrionuevo.

In February, he rode to Qinghai Lake again. The only worker in the lake zone invited him to stay in his house by the lake. It was cold, empty and quiet. The cyclist rode around the lake early the next morning and felt "fantastic".

People are often friendly to cyclists, says Barrionuevo.

Once he went to a shop to buy a bottle of water. The shopkeeper gave him a bottle for free, but later charged tourists who came looking for refreshment. The shopkeeper explained that because Barrionuevo was a cyclist, he traveled with different goals than regular tourists.

"Tourists love to arrive at their destination by any vehicle. But it's the process of cycling to the destination that we enjoy the most," Barrionuevo says.

He notices that more and more Chinese enjoy exploring the world by bike, although it can still be difficult to obtain visas. As he puts it, the outside world is not as dangerous as one thinks if they dare to venture out and start riding.

Barrionuevo now lives in Beijing and works as a private golf coach. He prefers to ride his Manila rather than catch a bus. He has plans to cycle across more Asian countries.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn