Ｐｅｄａｌ　Ｐｏｗｅｒ　Ｐａｓｓｉｏｎ

ＤＯＮＧ　ＮＩＮＧ

BEIJING, 6 am. Meng Qiuyu cycles across the darkened city, still in a dream. The destination of his 20-kilometer journey is the Temple of Heaven in downtown Beijing. The dawn of every Saturday sees Meng and his fellow road cycling club members riding in from every corner of the sprawling metropolis. Occupied with their jobs during the week, they fervently spend the weekends pursuing their hobby.

At the Temple of Heaven, they flood into the office of Old Yang, a former member of the national road cycling team. Yangs rooms are piled high with cycling equipment. “The sport has developed very fast,” he says with a smile. “Its challenging and entertaining and the Tour de France has become one of the worlds most popular sporting events, second only to the Olympics and the Soccer World Cup. China is number one in terms of cycling participants, but we remain on the starting line as a world competitor.”

Meng Qiuyu, a former 100-meter runner, is the cycling teams captain and has a general passion for extreme sports. He works for China Central Television (CCTV), and it was his experience working as a TV extra many years ago that led to his interest in sports on the edge. The director of a TV drama he was working on asked Meng to jump from a 100-meter-high bungee platform. He jumped five times for a shot before the director was satisfied. “I was so scared at the beginning, but later found myself loving challenging activities of all kinds,” recalls Meng.

The club has no fixed training venue, so members usually ride 20 kilometers to a place outside Beijings Fifth Ring Road, taking a different route every week. The course must be approved by professional coaches before they set out, and senior club members with better bikes, faster speeds and greater stamina take care of team rookies. The group is more like a family than a cycling club. As well as riding, their Saturday gatherings are a chance to work on their bikes and swap information on the latest cycling technologies.

So please applaud these amateur cyclists if they pass you in the street – they may not be Lance Armstrong but they are equally as passionate about their pedaling pastime.