“Some things, if you don’t do it now, you will never do it in your life. Travel, in order to broaden your world.” This is a brief introduction of Lao Xi on Weibo. There are ten thousand possibilities and ten thousand opportunities in life. Don’t always envy others. Be more adventurous and take off bravely. This is called life. Believe that the best time is on the road, and the most beautiful self is far away.
I ride a motorcycle to Barcelona!
Xi Zhenzhong, 35 years old, was born and raised in Changsha, and has been a diehard Barcelona fan for 19 years. Fans commented that he is the best Barcelona fan in China, because he rode a motorcycle from Changsha, Hunan Province, China in 2015, passing through 21 countries. It took a total of more than 5 months and a journey of more than 36,000 kilometers, and finally arrived in Barcelona. A motorcycle was donated to the Barcelona Museum as a permanent souvenir. This is an ordinary thing that a die-hard Barcelona fan does for his beloved team, just like the ever-present Barcelona team logo on his chest.
In 2014, Xi Zhenzhong completed a solo ride in Tibet and a round-the-island ride in Taiwan. The accumulated riding experience made him unable to hold back his longing for Barcelona, and decided to take this “long-planned” journey as his 30th birthday present.
However, this is not a trip that can be said and left, and the complexity of it is far beyond everyone’s imagination.
This journey spans the Eurasian continent and passes through a huge number of countries. One of the most time-consuming tasks is visas. Even after departure, the person had already rode to Xinjiang, and his passport was still stranded in Beijing for formalities. A lot of preparatory work has been done in the early stage for how long each country should travel to cooperate with the visa, where each country needs to go, and the general route.
Route: China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Vatican, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, a total of 21 countries .
Travel: 39070 kilometers
Time: about 7 months
Cost: about RMB 200,000
At first, I wanted to go to Barcelona by bicycle, but after calculating the visa time, I found it unrealistic. Finally felt like going by bike. “With a big frame, I don’t feel much.” Based on the comprehensive evaluation of speed and feeling, it became the best choice. However, I hesitated when choosing domestic or Japanese motorcycles. With a budget of more than 20,000 yuan, Japanese motorcycles are of better quality, and it is convenient to change parts after going abroad. But I’m still a little bit of a cynic. I want to give this car to FC Barcelona in the end, so it has to be a domestic car anyway.
After I bought the motorcycle back, I found a maintenance book, disassembled the bike again when I came back, reinstalled it, and found that there were extra parts—I’m not kidding myself! Tears ran… It was another toss and repair. Finally, after two or three months of hard training on mountain roads in Changsha, I could barely manage to ride on the road.
Domestic Zongshen RX3-250CC motorcycle
Needless to say, English is a necessary skill to communicate with people abroad. The difficulty is that in this section of Central Asia, there are very few people who can speak English on the way, and there is even no English on the road signs. So Lao Xi bought foreign language books, and taught himself Russian for a few months. He probably knew the daily sentences, and it was enough to know some street signs. Along the way, regardless of whether they can communicate in words or not, as long as the flag of Barcelona is raised, the common love has already connected each other. Because of this, I met a lot of good people and a lot of interesting things happened.
During the whole process, more than 150 die-hard Barcelona fans autographs were collected in various countries
Motorcycle Diary
Soaring alone in the mountains
Everything is difficult at the beginning. On May 13th, when we set off from Changsha, we encountered a heavy rainstorm. Before leaving the city, we fell into a ditch. At that time, we felt that the omen was not right. When I rode to the youth hostel in Jingzhou, Hubei on the first day, my body and luggage were all soaked.
After more than 20 days, I finally arrived at the border in Xinjiang and was about to enter Kyrgyzstan. Due to some problems with the procedures when the motorcycle exited the customs, I had no choice but to stay for a few days, which caused the entire Central Asia itinerary to be greatly squeezed.
The beautiful Duku Highway in Xinjiang
The road between Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is full of difficulties. There is almost no internet along the way, and there are not many people who can speak English. On the first day of going abroad, when crossing a stream, it slipped and turned over. Once the motorcycle with a total weight of more than 600 kg fell to the ground, one person could not even try to lift it up. We had to wait for someone to come to help… More tears.
Rollover on the road in no man’s land, you can only wait for rescue
Enjoy the scenery alone on the road in the uninhabited area of Kyrgyzstan
Under such extreme road conditions, sometimes it takes 6 hours to walk 100 kilometers and climb three mountains of more than 3,000 meters. When passing through Kazakhstan, I walked more than 80 kilometers for 5 hours. There was no one, the sky was getting dark, and there was a problem with the car lights. I felt lonely and powerless…
After that, in order to avoid the sharp stones, I fell down twice and suffered multiple injuries. In sparsely populated places, we can only wait for the rescue of herdsmen. I heard that these herdsmen would rob. I was lucky, and the people I met were all good people.
Meet International Friends Cycling in Uzbekistan
Old city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Walking with camels in Kazakhstan
Throughout the Central Asia itinerary, I was in no mood to appreciate all kinds of scenery, and almost all the way was racing and coping with the situation. At most, I even ran 780 kilometers in one day.
How bold the fighting nation is
Entering Russia from Kazakhstan, caught up with the rainy season, and barely worked.
Drive straight to Moscow, because here, I will start an important itinerary task-visiting the stadium. Luzhniki Stadium, home of CSKA Moscow, where the 2008 UEFA Champions League final was held, how could you miss it!
3 hours of darkness every day in St. Petersburg, Russia
In Moscow, a friend brought me 100 packs of betel nuts from Changsha. “Chinese chewing gum” can be said to be miraculous for refreshing people after riding and making friends.
Find Barcelona fans in Saint Petersburg
Later, in order to visit St. Petersburg, the famous European cultural capital, I did not hesitate to detour 1,400 kilometers. In addition to admiring the buildings and the stadium, another reason is to see the aurora in the Russian Arctic Circle. It turned out that it is the polar day season, and the sky is dark for two or three hours a night, which is very regrettable.
Help from Russian motorcycle friends
Along the way, I made many Russian friends and drank vodka. Especially on the way out of the country to Georgia, my motorcycle had some problems and I stopped on the side of the road for repairs. During this period, people kept asking me if I needed help. A man riding a Harley who couldn’t even speak English, delivered water and helped with repairs, stayed with me for two hours. And such kind-hearted people are not rare in Russia’s journey.
Kind Russian Harley Brother
During this journey through Asia and Europe, I found a total of 9 die-hard Russian fans of Barcelona through social networking sites such as VK.com and FACEBOOK, and they signed my Barcelona flag one by one as a souvenir.
Waterfall clouds in Caucasus mountains, Georgia
Sunset at the Clock Tower in Tbilisi, Georgia
So far, it has been more than 40 days since I set off, and I have lost 20 catties in weight.
romantic turkey
When I entered Turkey, although I met a few anti-China people on the way, because of the Turkish player Turan, the Barcelona team emblem in front of the motorcycle still made me feel the enthusiasm of most of the local people.
What gave me the most headache was moving the luggage. It took more than an hour to move the luggage from the room to the car every morning. Everything is worth it for the beauty.
Early morning hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey
Turkey Hot Air Balloon Tour
After reading the book “Hitch to Berlin” a few years ago, I have been obsessed with this place, so I took this place into special consideration when designing the route and time. Although I prefer some exciting high-altitude projects, it is worthwhile to ride a hot air balloon with the sunrise in such a beautiful place, no matter how much it costs.
Rafa Spaniard in Cappadocia, Turkey
The most beautiful sunset in Fethiye, Turkey
Many friends know that Turkey is called Blue Turkey. This name is because Turks love blue very much. The most famous ornament in their country is “blue eyes”, which means to dispel evil. After I finished the itinerary for the past few days, I feel that the real blue Turkey is because of the blue sky and the blue Mediterranean Sea. Blue in English also means melancholy, but in blue Turkey, there is no feeling of melancholy, and you are only accompanied by relaxation and carefreeness.
Denizilli Pamukkale, Turkey
Denizilli Pamukkale, Turkey
cat in ephesus turkey
seaside road and car
Since I saw the Pacific Ocean by bicycle around Taiwan Island in 2013, this is the most beautiful sea I have ever seen. Swim in the Dead Sea, or sit on the shore and sunbathe watching paragliders fly overhead, enjoying the relaxed Turkish life.
The football world rolls out
Arriving in Naples by boat from Greece, he finally landed in the “five major leagues” and entered the football world.
In the city of Milan, I watched the first game of the trip – the Milan Derby. The hot atmosphere completely shocked me who had only occasionally watched Xiangtao games live, really! At that time, when the huge TIFOs appeared in the stands on both sides, and the fans sang together, the feeling was simply wonderful.
Taking pictures outside the San Siro Stadium
Left footprints in both Venice (left) and Glasgow (right)
In Florence, I went to the Frankie Stadium with a pilgrimage, because this stadium is closely related to the name of an Argentine, that is, Batistuta. People of our generation have more or less Batty episodes. There is a goal in the football world called Bati Goal!
At Viola’s home court, I took a photo of my best friend. This product originally claimed to go on the road with me, but in the end it gave up. I strongly request such a picture to show that I have visited here, buddy, you are satisfied!
Cycling on the roads of Europe
I transferred to Turin, which coincided with the Derby. My Italian friends advised me to be careful. I lost the Champions League final last year, which has left Juventus fans still grieving. “Don’t expose your identity as a Barcelona fan.” I thought about my car Such a big Barcelona LOGO, finally gave up…
Forlorn Acropolis in Athens, Greece
Apollo Gate, Naxos Island, Greece
Going north to Germany, I encountered the most regrettable thing in this journey. At that time, I was visiting the Allianz Arena in Munich. I originally planned to watch the current round of Bayern’s Bundesliga game, but I gave up after checking the ticket price. There were only more than 200 Euros left. It was too expensive, and I had to save the money to watch the Spanish national derby. Woolen cloth. As a result, it was precisely in this game that Lewandowski scored 5 goals in 9 minutes. Missing such a miracle means that I will never see him again in this life.
Pitted to death by KOP in Liverpool
This is not the only depressing thing. In Liverpool, some fans were very interested in my journey and expressed their desire to sign the pennant as a sign of encouragement. When he signed it, I was going to cry—my buddy wrote on the banner 3 big letters: “KOP” (Synonym for Liverpool diehards)!
Barcelona fans I met in Athens
Of course, there are many surprises in the process of collecting fan signatures. In Greece, I got acquainted with Antonio, the chairman of the Barcelona Fans Association through the local fans association, which paved the way for me to receive official attention after I arrived in Barcelona.
White church on top of hill on Naxos island, Greece
Beautiful sunset over the Aegean sea, Naxos island, Greece
Arriving at Naxos Island, I really felt how beautiful the blue of the Aegean Sea is. So, it is determined before I land on the island that I will like this island.
Naxos Island is more than twice the size of Paros Island. We live in a small village about 15 minutes drive from the port. The side is very quiet and the room is very comfortable. The balcony can overlook the small town of the port.
Inside the Colosseum
Listen to the tour guide’s explanation to understand some of the history here. The magnificence and shock of this place cannot be described in a few words.
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
The ubiquitous statues are the work of many top art masters, including the very famous Michelangelo. In the middle of the top of the church is Jesus holding the cross, next to his 12 disciples.
Traffic on Piazza Venezia in Rome, Italy
After walking for a whole day, although the body is very tired, but the heart is not tired. The impression of Rome has changed drastically on this day.
Vatican, one country, one square, one church
This photo was taken on the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. Although I have seen this scene many times on the Internet, only when I am really on the scene can I understand what the power of faith is.
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy
panorama of city of florence italy
Florence is known as the capital of the Renaissance, and the whole city is a work of art. This journey has been nearly 4 months now, but I have never been so nostalgic for a place. Whether it is the artistic atmosphere in the city or the natural environment of the surrounding towns, everything is so attractive to me, but life must continue , The journey will continue, and we can only forget these for the time being, because the next thing is the real European football journey.
The magical seaside town of Cinque Terre, Italy
fashion capital of milan italy
The only purpose of my visit to Milan this time is to watch the Milan Derby. Whenever there is a Derby in this city, the whole stadium will turn into two colors, red flames and blue ocean. I just want to experience it completely The charm of a football scene.
The crowded water city of Venice, Italy
sunset in venice italy
Square at dusk in Prague, Czech Republic
Bayern Munich Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
The Allianz Stadium will be lit up at certain nights, and the night view is very beautiful. After putting away my luggage that day, I plan to go and have a look. Before going, I go to a Chinese restaurant near the town to eat. I didn’t move, got out of the car to check, and found that the rear tire was completely flat, and a big nail pierced the tire, and the tire sealant was useless.
Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany
Dutch windmill
Tower Bridge, London, England
Nottingham-on-Trent, England
Old man in front of Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland
red brick building in Manchester, England
Eiffel in autumn in Paris, France
The bustling Louvre in Paris, France
Luxembourg Schengen Town
I really like the colors of autumn. When I was in Changsha, there was almost no autumn season.
Today’s destination is Schengen, yes, it is the place where the European Visa Schengen Agreement is signed. The weather along the way was very bad. There was heavy fog when we entered the mountains, and then it rained heavily. We simply kept riding along the high speed. Today, 80% of the road to Schengen is in Belgium, so the mobile phone navigation is useless again. Fortunately, the signage on the expressway is much clearer than the national highway, so it is not a big problem. It is after 8 o’clock in the evening and it is completely dark. After arriving, I arrived in a small Schengen town. In this kind of place without too many tourists, the 4-person room of the youth hostel became my room alone.
Lake Geneva, Switzerland, like a fairyland
Stargazing under Mont Blanc in France
Pocket Country Monaco
The national derby has a tooth mark
On November 6th, on my 30th birthday, I entered Spain.
In the twilight of San Sebastian, I used Wang Han’s 40-year-old sentiment in my circle of friends to give to myself in my thirties, “When the wind is high and the rain is slanting, stand firm; where the flowers are red and the willows are green, you can see high.”
I went to 19 of the home games of the 20 teams in La Liga. I didn’t go to the one because it was really inconvenient on the island.
Eibar’s pitch is pitifully small
Ebar, this Chinese shareholder team, its home court Ipurua stadium is so small that I want to laugh. It can only seat more than 5,000 people. I can see clearly inside.
In Villarreal, the name of the home field has changed from the Love Song Stadium to the Ceramic Love Song Stadium, which is too low.
I was so impressed by the antagonistic atmosphere between Sevilla and Real Sociedad, it was much stronger than Milan. When asked there, don’t say that you are a fan of any one, because you don’t know who is asking you. Which fan…
Carnival with Barcelona fans at the Bernabéu
Finally, finally, the main course of the trip has arrived: the El Clasico!
Madrid Spain watch El Clasico at the Bernabeu
Because I didn’t get a ticket for the away team, I ended up spending more than 200 euros to sit in the Real Madrid fan area. That day, I was wearing a Barcelona jersey, wrapped in a jacket, and carefully lurked in the “enemy zone”. I stepped on the white note on the seat that the home team used to create the atmosphere; I sang in my heart as the Barcelona stands sang; at the beginning of the game, I wanted to sneak to the Barcelona area next door, but was caught by the security guards…
4 to 0 bloodbath Real Madrid! In order to keep myself from screaming happily, I bit my teeth
The most difficult thing was that Barcelona scored a goal. They didn’t dare to celebrate. They were afraid of being beaten, so they could only bite their own hands to vent. After a game, there were teeth marks all over them. 4 to 0, dear ones!
After the game, after waiting for all the Real Madrid fans around to leave with ashen faces, I found the organization, took off my coat, and celebrated wildly. I was not surprised by the 4-0 result. On the way, I heard that Ancelotti was dismissed from get out of class and Benitez was in charge. I felt God bless Barcelona and I was happy for a long time. This Real Madrid team will be led by Carlo Ancelotti for another two years, which is a big threat to us.
Barcelona, Spain presented with signed flag and motorcycle
Thirty-year-old first light in San Sebastian, Spain
Pilgrimage to Santiago, Spain
Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
Seville, Spain
Isabel II Iron Bridge, Seville, Spain
The most suitable small town for elopement in Ronda, Spain
Picturesque landscape of Granada, Spain
Pilgrimage to Camp Nou
On November 24th, I finally arrived at the holy place in my heart: Camp Nou.
After going through so many hardships, I sent out a cry with a picture of Camp Nou in my circle of friends: I am at this time! ! What should be the mood! ! !
wait! According to the general plot, the emotional and tearful scenes did not appear, because I was already frozen! to make! dog! ! ! It was too cold, so cold that I couldn’t think any more. I walked around Camp Nou trembling all the way, and at the end I didn’t know whether I was shivering with excitement or shivering with cold.
and Barcelona Fans Association President Antonio
Previously, I have been in contact with the official Barcelona club through three ways. The first one is to write an email by myself, the second one is to the chairman of the Barcelona Fan Association I met before, and the third one is a fan named Yu Lei in the United States. After hearing my story, he has been actively supporting me. I offered to help and eventually even flew in to be with me.
So, in the UEFA Champions League when Barcelona beat Roma 6-1, I got a VIP pass bracelet officially provided by the club. With this wristband, I scurry around to find the best angle to observe the Barcelona players playing. It’s so cool. I can even run behind the corner flag to watch the players take corners at close range, and wait until the players change. Side, I can actually follow them to change sides.
Get around Camp Nou with a VIP bracelet
After that, the officials of the Barcelona club arranged for me to meet with the players and coaches and sign autographs. Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Iniesta, Enrique, basically everyone who could come came, but to be honest, I am alone with them. Individuals are not as passionate about Barcelona as a whole.
If you ask me who is my favorite Barcelona player, I might answer: Kluivert, it is because of the Dutchman that I finally fell in love with Barcelona.
Interviewed by Barcelona’s official website
“World Sports News” related report layout
In the end, my story appeared on the front page of Barcelona’s official website, and the local “Mundo Deportivo” even used a full page to report it. I presented the club with the pennant that I collected autographs from Barcelona fans from all over the world along the way, as well as the old man motorcycle that accompanied me on the 39,070-kilometer journey.
Barcelona promised to put the pennant in the club museum for everyone to visit, and the motorcycle will be properly kept. In the future, if my child is a Barcelona fan in the future, if he can see such a thing in the Nou Camp and know such a story, he will definitely be deeply proud of his father…
