Meet 3 Chinese Sweethearts…⁣

Picture 1: Remember Shandan where we tried to cycle, but found it too icy? On this day we tried a different hotel, as ours was expensive. We went to Shandan Hotel which was closed. This sweet man gave us directions to a new hotel, then jumped in his car and showed us the way. He didn’t speak English but used translator and liaised with the hotel.⁣

I wished I’d taken his WeChat so we could’ve met later, but at the time I didn’t think about it. This moment was to be enjoyed just as it was. It was special. It’s been over a week and it’s still in our minds. ☺️⁣

Video 1: This is my favourite short-interaction of the trip. It was simply the sweetest moment ever. This gentleman was cycling in Yongcheng as we were leaving. He cycled with us for 3kms and I could see he was happy about it. Everytime we came to a crossing or a light he would usher us through like a guardian angel, keeping a close eye on us and making sure we were safe. He cycled out of town with us, which I thought was odd.⁣

Eventually he said “hello” and signalled he was leaving. I expected him to cross the road into this building opposite, but he didn’t. He did a U-turn and we watched him roll downhill, back to where we came from. ⁣

Picture 2 & video 2 – meet Sun, a cyclist who we met outside Lanzhou. He sped past us on his funky pink racer then pulled over to have a cigarette. He spoke little English but thankfully enough to say “hey hey, look!” I stopped my bike and turned around to see Stew picking his bike up off the floor. I ran over to find Stew had another puncture and had slipped at a railway crossing! Luckily he managed to catch himself before completely hitting the deck. We stopped to repair the puncture and Sun helped us. He was freezing cold! I showed him I was wearing 4 layers – he was wearing 1 and it wasn’t thick or warm! His hands were red raw from cold and he was shivering. I gave him our WeChat as I hoped to encourage him to leave for his own good, but he stayed like a true good Samaritan. I offered him our down jacket, but he declined. Once the tyre was fixed Sun cycled us 20kms to our hotel. Stew enjoyed the rare treat of drafting someone!