Biking Yutong He

If your dad asks you to cycle along the biggest saltwater lake in China-Qinghai Lake, what will you answer be? Hell yeah, that was my answer. However, I found the challenge was not easy. Qinghai Lake is 225 miles long and it is two miles above sea level. My dad and I planned to spend three days around the lake, which meant we had to ride tens of miles a day on the plateau.

On the first day of our cycling journey, we spent an hour to get to the entrance of Qinghai Lake. Then after a short ride, a steep slope suddenly appeared in front of us, and the cyclers stopped and began to cart up. But I did not do so, instead, I speeded up, and put the file to the minimum when the slope became even steeper. My thighs were sore, and my breaths were very heavy. "Persistence is victory." This old-fashion sentence repeated in my mind and drove me to the top of the slope. On the top, I looked down at people who still pushing their bikes up and felt fully satisfied. I successfully challenged myself.

On the last day of our journey, my body was exhausted. All I could do was just repeat the cycling movement mechanically. Until today, I still remember that when I reached the hotel in our destination after an eight-hour journey, I felt my legs were...